Carlo Ancelotti has doubled down on suggestions that he will leave Real Madrid in the summer, ruling out a move to Chelsea once and for all. Frank Lampard was appointed as caretaker manager earlier this month with Todd Boehly yet find the Blues a new boss ahead of next season.
Julian Nagelsmann, Luis Enrique and Ancelotti have all been heavily linked with taking the head coach role at Stamford Bridge. Marcelo Gallardo, Mauricio Pochettino and Jose Mourinho have also been mentioned in relation to the vacancy, but an obvious frontrunner is yet to emerge.
In the meantime, the Real Madrid boss has ruled himself out not once but twice, insisting that he still has a contract to respect at the Santiago Bernabeu. Ancelotti sees his deal in the Spanish capital expire at the end of next season after he returned to the club for a second spell in charge in 2021.
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The 63-year-old was recently quizzed on his future by Radio Rai 1. He said: "There's a nice saying which is just right: the wind carries away the chatter. And that's it, I have a contract until June 30, 2024 and I'd like to respect it."
Then, on Friday, Ancelotti was asked whether he had the support of Florentino Perez, the Real Madrid president. The Italian replied: "I think so. The president has always been very affectionate with me and he still is. We have to look forward. We will be here next season without a doubt because we are going to respect the contract."
Following the Spanish side's win over Chelsea, Ancelotti added: "It doesn’t bother me. English football competes very well. They have a very high level. I’m not surprised that [Manchester] City are favourites to win [the Champions League].
"The truth is that there may be a bit of a difference, in Europe it’s showing the opposite. Last year the Spanish league took two teams to the semi-finals of the Champions League.
"It’s competitive, contrary to what especially the English think. When it comes to Europe, they compete against football that has less money to compete like Spanish or Italian football."
Ancelotti has cleared up speculation over his future ahead of his return to west London for the Champions League quarter-final second-leg. With the Italian extracting himself from proceedings, Boehly's search for a new boss has become a lot easier, though he's still far from an ultimatum.
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