Real Madrid's current manager Carlo Ancelotti has already agreed to take over the Brazil men's national team this summer, according to multiple reports.
Ancelotti's future seemed set until at least the summer of 2026 after he led Madrid to a rare Champions League-La Liga double in the 2023/24 campaign. Yet, as many managers have discovered in the past - including the Italian himself, no coach can ever get too comfortable in the Santiago Bernabeu dugout.
After bowing out of the Champions League in the quarter-finals, multiple outlets effectively confirmed Ancelotti's departure at some point this season. In the aftermath of Saturday's Copa del Rey final defeat to Barcelona, Brazil became increasingly confident that they would be able to appoint the revered manager this summer.
Now, MARCA claim that an agreement has finally been struck between Brazil's football federation (CBF) and Ancelotti. All that's missing is the 65-year-old's signature. Fabrizio Romano suggests that his salary has been settled, with Ancelotti, an assistant coach with Italy in the early 1990s, poised to become one of the best-paid national team managers on the planet.
ESPN go so far as to name the date of 26 May as when the CBF expect to see Ancelotti in Rio de Janeiro. That would be just one day after Real Madrid are scheduled to host Real Sociedad in their final La Liga match of the season.
There is still the chance that Ancelotti can win another top-flight title before walking out in a blaze of glory. Madrid are just four points adrift of league-leading Barcelona and still have to face the Catalan giants in an almighty Clasico next month.
A May exit for Ancelotti would stop him from leading the squad into this summer's newly expanded FIFA Club World Cup.
Madrid begin the campaign against Saudi giants Al Hilal on 18 June. If the capital outfit are unable to appoint Xabi Alonso as Ancelotti's permanent successor before then, there has been speculation that former player and manager Santiago Solari could take over on an interim basis.
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