Real Madrid News
Real Madrid plan to replace Carlo Ancelotti with club legend in 2024 – report
While Carlo Ancelotti will remain in charge at Real Madrid for the 2023/24 season, it is almost certain that the 64-year-old tactician will be moving on from the Santiago Bernabeu next year.
Ancelotti’s contract stands to expire in 2024 and it is believed that the Italian has agreed to take over the reins of the Brazil national team when that happens.
Naturally, Los Blancos are already working on identifying potential targets to replace the legendary manager in around twelve months.
And, according to a report from BILD, Real Madrid have identified former midfielder and current Bayer Leverkusen manager Xabi Alonso as the man to replace Ancelotti next year once the Italian departs.
Alonso spent five years as a player at Real Madrid between 2009 and 2014 and was part of the team that won La Decima under Ancelotti before leaving for Bayern Munich.
Having retired from the game in 2017, the 41-year-old started his coaching career a year later with the Real Madrid youth teams. A year later he took over the reins of the Real Sociedad B team and spent three years there before moving to Bayer Leverkusen in October last year.
Having taken up the job at a time when the Bundesliga outfit were in all sorts of trouble, Alonso guided them to the semi-finals of the UEFA Europa League and a respectable sixth-place finish in the German top flight.
The 41-year-old’s contract with Leverkusen expires in 2024, perfectly aligning with the potential vacancy at the Bernabeu, and Florentino Perez wants his former midfielder to replace Ancelotti.
Even though he is still earning his spurs as a top-level manager, Alonso’s work at Leverkusen has seen him attract interest from teams like Tottenham Hotspur and PSG, apart from Real Madrid.
And if everything falls in place, there is a very good chance that the Spaniard ends up moving to the Santiago Bernabeu next year, this time around as a manager.
Bernardo Silva was one of Real Madrid’s headline signings last summer. The Portuguese midfielder arrived on a free transfer from Manchester City and appeared destined to become the creative successor to Toni Kroos and Luka Modric in the middle of the park.
Indeed, with the club having not signed a new central midfielder, many within Real Madrid saw the veteran star as a solution to the issue.
Manager Jose Mourinho made him a starter from the very beginning in pre-season, but not in his usual role on the right. Instead, he deployed his compatriot as a deep-lying playmaker in the midfield double pivot.
A change in circumstances
Silva failed to have the expected influence when operating in a deeper role in midfield in the chances he got.
Combined with the emergence of Arda Guler and Aurelien Tchouameni’s return to fitness, the Portuguese international has now lost his place in the starting line-up and dropped to the bench.
Bernardo’s situation became particularly striking against Villarreal this past Saturday at the Santiago Bernabeu, when he did not play a single minute.
Limited opportunities under Mourinho
Bernardo has played six matches for Real Madrid, starting three and coming on as a substitute in another three.
He did not feature against Villarreal or Elche, while his only appearance in the last three matches was a little over 10 minutes against Atletico Madrid. He was not used regularly by the Portugal national team during the international break either.
Across Real Madrid’s eight La Liga fixtures, Silva has accumulated just 282 minutes of playing time.
The Champions League now presents another opportunity for the former Manchester City captain, who has yet to make his European debut for Real Madrid this season.
He missed the match against Inter Milan because he was still serving a suspension carried over from his time at the Etihad Stadium last season.
It remains to be seen whether Mourinho will give him an opportunity against AS Roma in the coming week.
For now, the midfielder’s reduced playing time suggests that the Portuguese coach has lost some of his faith in a player who arrived with high expectations after leaving Manchester City.
