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.
Aurelien Tchouameni has had an exciting start to his career at Real Madrid. Since joining the club for almost €80 million last summer, the young Frenchman has now become a pivotal figure in Real Madrid’s midfield unit.
However, prior to his move to Santiago Bernabeu, the midfielder was closely linked with a move to Paris Saint-Germain.
In a recent interview, Tchouameni opened up on his links to PSG but revealed his decision to join Real Madrid.
Aurelien Tchouameni on PSG links
Talking about speculations linking him to PSG, Tchouameni said (h/t Madrid Zone), “PSG? Frankly, I thought about it. It’s a very big European club, we want the French clubs to succeed.”
“But honestly, when Real Madrid calls you, it’s very complicated to say no,” Tchouameni added.
The midfielder was linked with a move to PSG during his time at AS Monaco. Les Parisiens wanted to sign the youngster as part of their plans to reinforce the midfield unit.
Tchouameni, though, ended up opting for a move to Real Madrid, which turned out to be a prudent decision from the midfielder’s end.
Tchouameni’s career at Real Madrid
Aurelien Tchouameni made a total of 50 competitive appearances during his maiden season at Real Madrid.
Although the Frenchman was not entirely a first-team regular in Carlo Ancelotti’s setup, his stature in the team is expected to grow in the coming years.
Especially as Toni Kroos and Luka Modric move on at the end of the season, there is scope for Tchouameni to become a first-team regular in the Real Madrid midfield in the years to come.
The former AS Monaco starlet has already played a crucial role in the starting eleven so far this season and it is only going to continue as the season progresses.
