There's 'no way' Carlo Ancelotti will be manager of Real Madrid next year... and Zinedine Zidane could take over, claims Jamie Carragher

The Italian manager is likely to end the season without a trophy

Tom Sheen
Thursday 14 May 2015 11:05 BST
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Carlo Ancelotti could be replaced by Zinedine Zidane as manager of Real Madrid next season, believes former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher.

After crashing out in the Champions League to Juventus on Wednesday night, Ancelotti will likely end the season without a trophy - Real were also knocked out of the Copa del Rey by Atletico Madrid in the round of 16 and are four points behind Barcelona in La Liga with just two games remaining.

Speaking after the game on Sky Sports Carragher said that the Italian should fear for his job.

"You know how this club works, he knows that better than anyone," he said. "He was a [Sergio] Ramos header away in last year's final in the last minute of the game from losing his job.

"That's what happens when you're manager of Real Madrid. He's one of the world's top managers, won the Champions League three times, but there's no way he will be here next year.

"I'm sure there'll be a change."

Ancelotti won the Champions League and Copa del Rey double last season but also struggled in the league, eventually coming third behind Barcelona and champions Atletico Madrid.

Jamie Carragher while working as a pundit this season

President Florentino Perez has not been shy about pulling the trigger on managers during his two spells in charge at the Bernabeu, and Carragher believes could have the next manager already lined up.

Former World Cup winner Zinedine Zidane has been in charge of the club's B team since June 2014 and narrowly missed out on promotion to Spain's third tier this season.

"There's talk of Zidane, who is in charge of the reserve team,' Carragher added. "You wouldn't be surprised at Real Madrid if that happened in the next couple of days, and they give someone else the job for the last three or four games to see how Zidane went.

"That's the nature of Real Madrid. They hire and fire managers. We've seen people fired when they've won the Champions League so the fact that [Ancelotti] is going to play a season without winning a trophy, there's no chance of him being here next year."

Speaking after the game, Ancelotti himself sounded uncertain about his future.

"I don't know if I will still be here," Ancelotti admitted. "We have 15 days left and two games, after that we will speak with the club. We were unlucky.

"We had lots of opportunities but we were unlucky. It remains to be seen whether president Florentino Perez has the same take on what looks like being an disappointing season."

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