Florentino Makes the Decision: Ancelotti Won't Stay and Sánchez Looks for a Coach

Real Madrid faces a very unstable timeframe. The crushing defeat against Barcelona, the second this season, has left Carlo Ancelotti very weakened. Despite previous successes, the Reggiolo coach's job could be in jeopardy according to information published by Relevo.

This newspaper warns that the board of directors led by Florentino would be looking for different options to fill the home bench at Santiago Bernabéu. The game that would have been decisive for that decision would be the final played in Jeddah itself. The accumulation of poor results and image in important games would have left the Italian strategist on the edge.

The search for a new coach, revealed by Relevo, leaves very few options for Real Madrid. At least until new names start to emerge in a debate that already took place during the months of October and November. Since then, Madrid decided to have Santiago Solari as interim coach until the definitive replacement of the transalpine coach arrived.

There are not only doubts about who would be chosen to replace the current white coach. Because the executives' "favorite" option is a Xabi Alonso who finishes his contract with Bayer Leverkusen in the 2026 summer... and getting him out before that date from the BayArena will require a considerable transfer fee that the white executives wouldn't be willing to pay.

We'll see

Keeping the former Madrid and Liverpool player as the first option on the list of potential candidates, rumors point to a "familiar face" of the team: Zinédine Zidane. However, the third stage of the French coach is becoming less likely for two reasons. The first is the restored relationship between Florentino and the former Franco-Algerian playmaker: neither would want to repeat what happened in the summer of 2021.

Furthermore, Zidane now aspires to succeed Didier Deschamps at the helm of the French national team. The current coach of the French team will step aside in 2026, a moment the FFF would seize to give the former white player the other job of his dreams.

As things stand, Real Madrid finds itself at a crossroads of difficult resolution. The coaching dilemma doesn't seem to offer many more names, so Ancelotti's continuity is the most logical decision that can be made currently. Especially if the aim is to finish the current season without much more commotion than already surrounds the white club due to off-field issues like its position in the "Olmo case".

The current roadmap, in addition to seeking different options for the white bench according to "Relevo," would only consider Xabi Alonso as Carlo Ancelotti's replacement in the summer of 2026. From the offices of Valdebebas, they don't seem prepared to change coaches now... especially because key matches are approaching for the competitive aspirations of the current season.