Real Madrid to face competition in pursuit of Carlo Ancelotti’s successor

It is expected that Carlo Ancelotti will leave his role as Real Madrid head coach at the end of the season when his contract expires. The Italian has been considering retirement, although he is only wanted by the Brazilian Football Federation to become their national team’s new manager.

Either way, Florentino Perez is likely to be tasked with finding a new head coach towards the latter end of this campaign. One candidate appears to be ahead of the rest at this stage, and that is Xabi Alonso.

Alonso, who was previously a youth coach at Real Madrid, currently manages Bayer Leverkusen, and he has transformed the German side since taking the reins just under a year ago.

However, if Real Madrid do decide to go for Alonso in the event Ancelotti leaves, they will face competition. Bild (via) MD report that Bayern Munich officials are keen to secure the Basque coach as a replacement for Thomas Tuchel, and they have an advantage in the fact that they could move during the season, which Los Blancos are very unlikely to do.

It’s not set in stone that Ancelotti will leave. He has had a very successful second spell in charge, and if he decides to remain, Perez may offer a new deal. However, Real Madrid will also be acutely aware of Alonso’s situation.