Carlo Ancelotti rejected Chelsea approach in November, while Jose Mourinho was still in charge

Ancelotti will take over at Bayern Munich in the summer

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Chelsea Football Club approached Carlo Ancelotti weeks before they had sacked former manager Jose Mourinho, according to reports.

The Blues eventually got rid of Mourinho on 17 December, just months after he had won the club their first Premier League title in five years, with Chelsea sitting just a point above the relegation zone after 16 matches.

According to the Daily Mail, Ancelotti was approached by the Chelsea hierarchy in November, five weeks before they decided to get rid of the Portuguese.

The report states that Ancelotti, who led Chelsea to the Double in 2010 before being sacked in the Goodison Park tunnel less than a year later, did not want to return to Stamford Bridge on a short-term deal.

It was also reported this week that Manchester United made an approach for Ancelotti in the Autumn, another move he rejected.

The Italian instead signed a three-year deal to replace Pep Guardiola at Bayern Munich.

It is reported that Ancelotti even met with officials to discuss a potential return, with Chelsea's billionaire owner Roman Abramovich telling confidants that sacking the 56-year-old was his biggest regret.

In Ancelotti's first season Chelsea won the Premier League with a brilliant brand of attacking football that saw them score 103 goals in their 38 matches, a record for the division, and beat Portsmouth to win the FA Cup.

But Chelsea were beaten in the Champions League by Mourinho's Internazionale - who went on to win the competition - and the next season they finished runners-up in the league to Manchester United and were again dumped out of the Champions League at the quarter-final, by Sir Alex Ferguson's side.

Ancelotti was unceremoniously sacked at Everton and has told how his life was made unbearable in his final weeks.

Guus Hiddink was appointed as interim manager, returning to Chelsea for a second spell.