Winning the Copa del Rey title didn’t guarantee that Carlo Ancelotti would remain on the bench or fulfill the final year of his contract at the Santiago Bernabéu. However, he knew a defeat would be the perfect trigger to justify his dismissal. As previously reported by ‘The Athletic’, Carlo Ancelotti’s departure from Real Madrid already has a set date—regardless of what happens in this final stretch of the season.

Ancelotti will leave Real Madrid when LaLiga ends

After being eliminated in the Champions League quarterfinals by Arsenal and losing to Barcelona for the third time this season in the Copa del Rey, Carlo Ancelotti was still clinging to the possibility of winning the LaLiga title. His desire has always been to continue at Real Madrid, and according to various media outlets from Spain, he told Florentino Pérez that he felt fully capable of turning things around for Real Madrid next season. However, even though the team gave a positive performance in the Copa del Rey final, the club is now fully convinced that Ancelotti’s cycle has come to an end.

Many reports suggested that Carlo Ancelotti could be dismissed immediately after the Copa del Rey final. Still, the club recognizes that he is the most decorated coach in its history and, at this point in the season, believes he deserves to finish the campaign and have a farewell worthy of his legendary status at Real Madrid. But even if he wins the upcoming Clásico against Barcelona and a miracle happens that leads to winning the LaLiga title, Ancelotti knows the decision is final. It’s a situation similar to what his friend Fabio Capello experienced in 2007.

Who will coach Real Madrid in the Club World Cup?

Ancelotti himself has always said he would never be a problem for Real Madrid and, though not how he would’ve preferred things to end, he has accepted the decision with professionalism. In fact, many media outlets reported that Brazilian officials were present at Estadio de La Cartuja to watch the Copa del Rey final between Real Madrid and Barcelona. After the match, they reiterated their interest in having him coach Brazil, and now that Ancelotti knows his future at Real Madrid, he is said to have given them his word to lead the team toward the 2026 World Cup.

The big question now is who will sit on the Real Madrid bench for the Club World Cup. According to ‘The Athletic’, the plan is for Carlo Ancelotti to be out of the club by then. It’s even possible he could be managing Brazil as early as the June FIFA international window. Ideally, Real Madrid wants to have a new coach in place before the Club World Cup. However, there are internal disagreements between the choices of Xabi Alonso and Jürgen Klopp. As a backup plan, the most feasible option is for Santiago Solari to step down from his front-office role and take charge of the team, as he did in the 2018–2019 season. Nonetheless, recent reports suggest that Real Madrid may give a club legend like Raúl González the opportunity to move up from Castilla and see how he handles leading the first team during the Club World Cup.