Carlo Ancelotti has expressed his wish to remain at Real Madrid beyond his current contract extension after committing to stay with the LaLiga leaders until at least 2026.
Ancelotti signed a new two-year deal on Friday, ending speculation linking him with the Brazil national team, and increasing the likelihood that the 64-year-old will be at the Bernabeu for the rest of his career.
The Italian leads his side into Wednesday’s home game against Mallorca sitting back at the top of the table on goal difference from surprise package Girona after two straight wins.
Ancelotti told a press conference: “I’m very happy to have my contract renewed, it was very simple and both sides agreed on it.
“It’s important that the club continues to trust in my work. My contract was up on June 30 and the club decided to do it now because they’re happy with my work.
“I don’t know if it will be my last spell as a coach. I don’t know what will happen once I finish here. I might still be here in 2026, depending on how successful I am.
“I’d like to be Madrid coach until 2026, and hopefully I can continue to be here in 2027 and 2028 because I want to stay here.”
With his side’s injury problems starting to ease, Ancelotti insisted he will not be in the market for new players in the January transfer window, despite first-choice centre-backs Eder Militao and David Alaba still sidelined.
“We are not planning to sign another centre-back,” said Ancelotti, who will have Vinicius Junior, Dani Carvajal and Arda Guler all available after returning from injury.
“We’ve got two important ones out, but we’ve got two more in Nacho and (Antonio) Rudiger. And then we have others options in case of emergencies such as (Eduardo) Camavinga and Carvajal.”
Having hauled in the early domestic leaders, Ancelotti is confident his side will continue to assert their authority in LaLiga with so many big names becoming available.
“We must wait and see what happens this season. We’ve done well so far, the team has changed, it’s changing, and it will change in the future,” he added.
“We have a lot of talent that we haven’t been able to put into action yet, like Guler, who is finally getting back to his best.
“We’ll have to wait for the second half of the season. We did well in the first half, even with a lot of problems.”
Xavi departs disappointed his work at Barcelona was not appreciated enough
Sacked Barcelona manager Xavi said he leaves the club disappointed after feeling his work was not appreciated enough as they finished the season with a 2-1 win at Sevilla on Sunday.
Xavi, 44, who joined Bara on a three-year deal when Dutchman Ronald Koeman left in 2021, led the Catalan giants to their 27th league title last season.
He compiled 90 wins, 23 draws and 29 defeats in 142 games in charge but was fired on Friday.
"I have the feeling that everything I have done in these two and a half years has caused an earthquake. I have been targeted many times in many situations," Xavi said.
"I think that the work has not been sufficiently appreciated. This year we haven't been up to the task because of details. We had four key games in which we couldn't finish the good work we had done," he added.
LaLiga runners-up Barcelona, who finished 10 poins behind Real Madrid, have endured a frustrating season, losing to Real in the Spanish Super Cup final, knocked out of the Copa del Rey by Athletic Bilbao in the quarter-finals and eliminated from the Champions League by Paris St Germain also in the last eight.
Xavi decided to step down in January but agreed to return in April after talks with president Joan Laporta, who later changed his mind and sacked him after a season without silverware.
"It is not for me to say the reasons or the motives. I think it is up to the president to say them. I had no choice but to accept it. It doesn't matter if I agree with the arguments.
"I'm not leaving with a sense of relief because we wanted to continue. These are decisions made by the club. We understood and respected that, but we thought it wasn't over," he added.
Xavi pointed out that while he did not agree with his departure, he accepted that the club was bigger, adding that the next coach's job would not be easy.
"He should know that he has a tough situation because Barca is a challenging club but on top of that it is in an adverse economic situation. It will not be an easy task," he said.
Sevilla 1-2 Barcelona: Bittersweet farewell for Xavi as Barca end season with a win
Barcelona ended the season with a 2-1 victory at Sevilla in LaLiga on Sunday, making departing coach Xavi's farewell bittersweet after a trophy-less season.
La Blaugrana came out all guns blazing from the start and took the lead in the 15th minute through Robert Lewandowski who scored from close range after latching onto Joao Cancelo's cross.
Sevilla levelled with Youssef En-Nesyri's strike in the 31st minute and went close again but failed to beat Marc-Andre ter Stegen before Barca got the winner on the hour through Fermin Lopez.
Barca were already guaranteed second place going into Xavi's final game. The Spaniard was sacked on Friday, after a disappointing campaign in which they lost the Spanish Supercopa final to Real Madrid and were knocked out of the Champions League by Paris Saint-Germain in the quarter-final.
Data Debrief: A legend departs
Xavi never lost any of his six games as a manager against Sevilla in LaLiga (W5 D1), making them just the third opponent that he faced six times without defeat (also W5 D1 against Real Mallorca and Osasuna).
Fermin got the all-important goal to ensure Xavi's tenure ended on a high note. He has scored seven goals in LaLiga in 2024, a record surpassed by only one other Spanish player in Europe's top five leagues this year: Iago Aspas (eight).
Verona 2-2 Inter: Arnautovic double earns point for Serie A winners
Champions Inter end their Serie A season with a 2-2 draw against Verona thanks to a Marko Arnautovic double.
The Austrian opened the scoring after 10 minutes with a neat finish, but Inter were soon pegged back as Tijjani Noslin equalised six minutes later.
The Dutchman then set up Tomas Suslov for their second to turn the game on its head, but another smart finish from Arnautovic on the stroke of half-time ensured they would salvage a point.
Simone Perilli proved the hero for Verona in the end, pulling off a string of fine saves to keep his side level.
Data Debrief: Landmark for Inzaghi
Simone Inzaghi has now earned 250 points as a coach in Serie A with Inter, an achievement only Roberto Mancini has reached so far with the Nerazzurri in the three-points-per-win era (436). This draw takes him up to the landmark after 77 wins and 19 draws (18 losses).
After winning the Scudetto with five games to go, Inzaghi has led Inter to 94 points in Serie A, with only three teams ever earning more points in a single campaign in the competition in the three-points-per-win era: Inter in 2006-07 (97) and Juventus in 2013-14 (102) and 2017-18 (95).
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