Carlo Ancelotti has signed a new contract with Real Madrid to put an end to speculation linking him with a return to the Premier League at Manchester United.
In truth, we always had our doubts about those reports suggesting that the former Chelsea and Everton manager was on his way back to England to replace Erik ten Hag in the Old Trafford hotseat (Cadena Cope).
With Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS taking over all footballing operations at Manchester United, no decision was ever going to be made about Ten Hag’s future without their say-so. INEOS, meanwhile, appear to be focusing not on shifting Ten Hag but on supporting him with a clear, coherent and elite-level sporting structure.
The kind of which no United boss post-Sir Alex Ferguson has had the luxury of enjoying.
Manchester United boss is safe… for now
Ancelotti’s own future, meanwhile, is no longer quite so uncertain. Despite those Man United links, and the long-running rumours tipping him for the Brazil job, Ancelotti has put pen to paper on a new contract which could keep him at Real Madrid until the summer of 2026.
Ancelotti, in his second spell at the Santiago Bernabeu, has Real top of the La Liga table and seven points clear of reigning champions Barcelona. The 64-year-old Italian his dealt with the departure of Karim Benzema masterfully, and has helped Jude Bellingham take another giant step forward in his career.
Carlo Ancelotti staying at Real Madrid
Graham Potter, another one-time Chelsea coach, has his fair share of admirers at INEOS. But the smart money is on Ten Hag remaining in situ until the end of the current campaign at least.
“To put Graham Potter in the conversation is stretching it a little bit, or it should be. Maybe he’s got a busy agent!,” former Crystal Palace chairman Simon Jordan told talkSPORT (14 December, 12pm), Potter out of work since that disastrous spell at Stamford Bridge.
“He couldn’t cope with Chelsea. You think he can cope with Man United? That problem? That tiger by the tail? It is still a beast of a football club, and the step up from Brighton to Chelsea was too much for him. It was the wrong decision (to go there).
“Yes, you can point to the problems the ownership model brings. But he still should have been able to produce a side of some significance.”
Receive a digest of our best United content each week direct to your mailbox
