Brazil will be made to wait until the end of the season for Real Madrid to make a final decision on the future of manager Carlo Ancelotti, 90min understands.
The South American giants have not been shy about their desire to recruit Ancelotti and the president of the Brazilian Football Federation (CBF) recently confirmed his wish to land the Italian.
However, Ancelotti himself has consistently downplayed the rumours, recently insisting he would be happy to stay with Real for the rest of his life.
Brazil’s determination to land Ancelotti is unwavering but they will have to wait until the end of the season to find out whether the 63-year-old will be available to hire.
Sources have confirmed to 90min that Real have not yet made a formal decision on Ancelotti’s future at the club and are keen to take everything into account – including performances in both La Liga and the Champions League – before reaching a final verdict.
Club president Florentino Perez is understood to be an enormous fan of Ancelotti and does not want to part ways with the Italian, although there is an awareness that the team’s performance in La Liga has fallen short of expectations this season. Real are 12 points behind runaway leaders Barcelona, and Xavi’s side have also come out on top in three of the four Clasicos this year.
A decision on Ancelotti’s future will be made at the end of the season once the club’s Champions League campaign comes to a close. A departure from the Santiago Bernabeu is by no means likely but has also not been officially ruled out either.
Ancelotti himself is believed to have been keeping an eye on the Canada national team job as he eyes retirement in the homeland of his wife, Vancouver native Mariann Barrena McClay, and it remains to be seen whether he would be interested in a move to another nation.
Brazil will continue to chase Ancelotti and CBF president Ednaldo Rodrigues recently confirmed that the Selecao hope to be able to announce their new boss in May.
“We have the patience to wait for the right time for us to have these conversations,” he said.
“Nothing is defined enough yet to say the name [of the next coach] with certainty, but it is along those lines. We need a coach who has the admiration of the players.”