- Brazil were in talks with Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti to become their coach
- The Italian turned down the advance and opted to remain with the LaLiga giants
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The Brazilian football federation has renewed their interest in Carlo Ancelotti and would like the Italian to be in charge for the 2026 World Cup, a report has claimed.
The development comes in the wake of the Selecao’s embarrassing 4-1 defeat by bitter rivals Argentina in World Cup qualifying on Tuesday night. The result left Brazil down in fourth place, with the first six teams from CONMEBOL qualifying automatically for the tournament in the USA, Mexico and Canada.
The CBF most recently pursued the 65-year-old in 2023 and were prepared to make him the first foreign head coach in the nation’s history as his second spell at the Bernabeu looked to be drawing to a close.
According to The Athletic, the federation has again been in touch with the Italian as pressure mounts on incumbent Dorival Junior. The report also says Madrid claimed to be unaware of contact between their manager and the CBF.
Earlier, Brazil legend Ronaldo Nazario claimed that the Selecao’s pursuit of Carlo Ancelotti in 2023 was ‘not a fantasy’ after he turned down their approach.
Ancelotti was in the final year of his contract at the Bernabeu and Brazil were confident of luring him to side where several of his Los Blancos stars play their national football.
The five-time World Cup winners were prepared to make Ancelotti their first foreign manager
Brazil have been in a testing period for a number of years since Tite’s exit after the 2022 World Cup
Brazil legend Ronaldo has claimed that the Selecao’s pursuit of Carlo Ancelotti in 2023 was ‘not a fantasy’
CBF president Ednaldo Rodrigues, who was re-elected this week unopposed, told the nation Ancelotti would be taking the job when his Madrid contract expired in 2024, just in time for the Copa America, in the USA in June.
‘He will be here, you can be sure,’ said Rodrigues of Ancelotti.
That, of course, did not transpire and after appointing Fernando Diniz to look after the team temporarily alongside his role as head coach of Fluminense, Junior was chosen to lead the outfit. Ronaldo revealed that Madrid came close to dismissing Ancelotti, which would have paved the way for his arrival in Brazil.
‘It was not a fantasy because I helped in the process by talking to Carlo, but he was not released,’ he told Charla Podcast. ‘Real Madrid did not release him.
‘After negotiating everything got stuck because he didn’t have Real Madrid’s release.
‘If he hadn’t won anything, Real Madrid would have fired him and Ancelotti would have come, but he won the Champions League and stayed for another year.’
Speculation over Ancelotti’s future has continued to swirl despite Madrid’s excellent performances and impressive trophy haul in his second spell with the side. The looming spectre of former Madrid star and current Bayer Leverkusen boss Xabi Alonso looms large.
Many expected him to make the move to Spain last summer after guiding Leverkusen to their first Bundesliga title as well as the German Cup and the final of the Europa League.
Dorival Junior is facing criticism after Brazil’s embarrassing 4-1 defeat by Argentina this week
Earlier this year, the 65-year-old addressed the chatter and was characteristically philosophical in his assessment of his situation.
‘I want to be very clear: I will never decide the date of my departure from this club in my life,’ he said. ‘I know perfectly well that it will come one day, but I will not decide that day.
‘It could be tomorrow or in one or five years. I have the advantage that Florentino [Perez] will be here for four more years and I have the objective of achieving them with him. We can say goodbye together.’
Following their thumping this week, Argentina moved eight points clear at the top of the South American qualifying group, while Brazil still have work to do to book their spot at the 2026 World Cup.
In addition to the six automatic qualifiers, the side finishing seventh will contest a play-off. Brazil have a six-point cushion over seventh-placed Venezuela with four qualifying matches left to play.
