Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti has flatly denied suggestions he will leave at the end of the season, instead insisting he intends to stay in the Spanish capital for another four years.
Whispers of Ancelotti's imminent departure appeared earlier this weekclaiming the 65-year-old coach who has seen it all had seen enough. Despite having already collected two trophies this season, questions have been raised about the tactical decisions of the Italian icon.
Ancelotti was criticized for it gung-ho approach in January's Spanish Super Cup final after his side were beaten for the second time this season by Barcelona. There have also been suggestions that the club's manager and hierarchy have collided on the transfer strategy.
However, Ancelotti does not want to be anywhere else until the end of his contract, which expires in 2026 – and possibly longer than that.
“The date of my departure from this club will never be decided by me, in any way,” the Real Madrid boss told the assembled media on Tuesday. “That day will come, but I don't know when it might be, it's not for me to decide. It might be tomorrow after the game, in the next game, in a year or in five years. I have an advantage and I have a purpose”.
This statement of intent came shortly after Florentino Perez extended the club's presidency until 2029 – a date which has been addressed Ancelotti. “We will have Florentino Perez here for another four years and those who know me very well know that the objective is to be here for another four years and that we can say goodbye together, with all the love of the world. outlined italian.
Perez has a strong working relationship with Ancelotti, but that did not stop him sacking the coach in May 2015, a short year after he ended the club's endless wait for a tenth. European Cup.
“The love that the players and the fans have for Carlo is the same as the love that I have for him,” Perez said at the time, while warning: “The demands here at Real Madrid are very high”.