After the heavy defeat against Arsenal, barring a miracle in the second leg on Wednesday, Madrid would be knocked out of the Champions League. With La Liga also looking tough and a Copa del Rey final against Barcelona — arguably the best team in the world right now (at least in terms of form) — things aren’t looking great.
If Real Madrid ends the season without a trophy, there’s a strong possibility that Ancelotti won’t continue as the team’s coach. In fact, some media outlets are speculating that he could leave even before the Club World Cup kicks off in mid-June.
Who Would Be the New Coach?
In recent years, the favorite to take over has always been Xabi Alonso, the current Bayer Leverkusen coach. He almost signed two years ago, and again last year, but in the end, since Madrid won 5 out of 6 possible trophies, Ancelotti stayed on.
Another name being mentioned is Jürgen Klopp.
Some fans even dream of a Mourinho comeback. But interestingly, the name that’s been making the rounds lately is none other than Zinedine Zidane. Yes — this would be his third time returning to coach Real Madrid.
Zidane has been without a team since he last left Madrid (same situation as the last time he returned). He was strongly linked with the French national team job after the World Cup, but nothing has been confirmed (and there’s still over a year to go until then).
We don’t know if Zidane would be interested, but the fact is that Madrid just signed his protégé Mbappé, along with Camavinga, Tchouaméni, and Mendy — four French players. It’s a very different Real Madrid from the one he left, and perhaps a new project he’d find intriguing.