Football is a cruel business, even for the most successful individuals in the world. Just ask Carlo Ancelotti.
Despite being one of the most decorated managers in the history of the sport, Ancelotti has been effectively dismissed by Real Madrid. He will leave at the end of the season that will conclude, in all likelihood, without a significant trophy.
Ancelotti has an argument as the greatest football manager of not just the modern era, but all-time. He’s the only head coach in football history to win the domestic league title in all five big European leagues, and he has the most Champions League titles of any manager.
The Sporting News details what happened to bring Ancelotti’s second tenure in charge of Real Madrid to an inauspicious end.
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What went wrong for Carlo Ancelotti at Real Madrid?
Even Ancelotti was going to struggle to improve on 2023/24, when Madrid won the La Liga and UEFA Champions League double. Yet there are a few key reasons why things went wrong this season — and why Madrid decided a change was needed.
Real Madrid failed to win a major trophy in 2024/25
At a club like Real Madrid, a trophyless season is flat out unacceptable, and that’s how 2024/25 feels to those at the Santiago Bernabeu — even though it’s not strictly true.
While Madrid won the UEFA Super Cup early in the season against Atalanta and also the FIFA Intercontinental Cup, those competitions are fringe events that do not satisfy the cravings of supporters, media, and club executives.
Where it counts, Madrid fell flat. They are set to finish second in La Liga, and they fell to Barcelona in both the Copa del Rey final and Supercopa de Espana. And where it matters most — the UEFA Champions League — they were largely miserable, qualifying for the knockout stage in shaky fashion before being flattened by Arsenal 5-1 on aggregate in the quarterfinals.
Regardless of the reasons, or the excuses, finishing the season without a major trophy puts pressure on any head coach at a club like this.
Ancelotti failed to answer the Kylian Mbappe question
Even the greatest eventually see the game slip through their fingers like sand, and that appears to be what happened to Ancelotti this season at Real Madrid.
The big question everyone asked heading into the 2024/25 season was where new arrival Kylian Mbappe would play. The France superstar is clearly best using his pace and skill to beat defenders out wide left, but Vinicius Jr. already occupied that spot.
Thus, Ancelotti decided to play Mbappe through the middle as a No. 9, and while he eventually proved successful in that role after a slow start, it had an enormous negative impact on wingers Vinicius Jr. and Rodrygo. Often, Mbappe was seen drifting out wide left to the same space as Vini, which clogged the attack and made them both easy to defend.
Both Madrid wingers were unable to play at their best with Mbappe through the middle, as Vini fell from a Ballon d’Or finalist last season to an afterthought in this year’s award list, while Rodrygo had an even worse campaign, invisible for the most part.
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While many would say the acquisition of Mbappe gave Ancelotti an impossible job, that’s not at all the case. Look at Paris Saint-Germain, who romped to the Ligue 1 title in historic fashion and are Champions League finalists. Luis Enrique has managed to build a fearsome attack with four wingers along his attacking line in Ousmane Dembele, Bradley Barcola, Khivicha Kvaratskhelia, and Desire Doue. All four have been utterly outstanding this season, with Dembele, a natural right winger, making a case for the Ballon d’Or despite playing largely through the middle as a No. 9. Notably, this set-up has thrived after Mbappe left the club.
It’s possible to make this work, and Ancelotti has largely failed to do it, even though Mbappe’s individual statistics have been strong.
KYLIAN MBAPPÉ BREAKS THE RECORD FOR MOST GOALS SCORED IN A DEBUT SEASON FOR REAL MADRID (38)
HISTORIC ⚪👑 pic.twitter.com/YMYG5c8Ng4
— B/R Football (@brfootball) May 11, 2025
Plans scuppered by litany of injuries
Not all of this is Ancelotti’s fault. By the time El Clasico came around in mid-May, Madrid were starting Fran Garcia at left-back, Lucas Vazquez at right-back, Raul Asencio and Aurelien Tchouameni at center-back, Dani Ceballos at the base of midfield, and Arda Guler on the right wing.
Lynchpin veteran Dani Carvajal shredded his knee early in the season and has missed nearly the entire campaign. They’ve been thin at center-back all season, with Eder Militao tearing his ACL twice in a year, David Alaba struggling with knee issues, and Antonio Rudiger eventually succumbing to overuse late on. Ferland Mendy’s muscle problems have continued all season long, and Eduardo Camavinga picked up an issue late in the campaign after playing all over the pitch.
There comes a point where no manager can win trophies with that amount of key players sidelined.
Brazil job provides the perfect transition after Madrid problems
With Brazil reportedly courting Ancelotti for years, their interest provided the perfect excuse for the Italian to leave the club on his terms, even as scrutiny over his methods increased.
Staying this summer would leave Madrid with an awkward decision to make. It was clear they wanted to move in another direction, with Xabi Alonso ready to take over, but straight-up sacking Ancelotti would be extremely difficult given what he’s accomplished both at the club and across his career in general.
Brazil, thanks to their desire for Ancelotti to take over as soon as possible, provided the best way for him to leave and secure another job immediately so Madrid could change gears. As if to underline this, he will take charge the day after La Liga’s season concludes.
