It’s a giant that Real Madrid is now showing the exit door, Italian manager Carslo Ancelotti has won 15 major trophies in his two spells at the club, including three Champions League titles and two La Liga titles.
The season has been difficult anyway and the world’s best national team Brazil tempts the 65-year-old who has never been national team manager even though he has been close to his home country Italy on several occasions. The latest from Real Madrid is that Carlo Ancelotti is done after the Copa del Rey final on April 26.
Read: British football media thinks Premier League club would rather go for Bodø/Glimt coach Kjetil Knutsen than Jose Mourinho
Here are six managers who can replace Ancelotti at Real Madrid.
Xabi Alonso
One of three former Real Madrid players on this list, Alonso has emerged as one of the leading candidates to take over at the Santiago Bernabéu. The former Spain international made 236 appearances for the club in his career, winning La Liga, two Copa del Rey titles and the Champions League, among others.
After retiring in 2017, he began coaching Real Madrid’s U14 team and later became head coach of Real Sociedad B. In October 2022, he got his first job as manager at Bayer Leverkusen, where he has impressed greatly.
The 43-year-old won an unbeaten league and cup double with Leverkusen in his first full season and also reached the Europa League final in 2023/24. Although Leverkusen have failed to repeat their success in 2024/25, Alonso is still considered one of the world’s most renowned coaches.
Real Madrid identified him as a priority target, and Leverkusen will not stand in the way if he wants to take over the Spanish giants. However, they will demand a significant sum to let him go, with reports of a purchase price of between 15-20 million euros.
Jürgen Klopp
Klopp had a successful nine-year spell at Liverpool, where he won the Premier League, FA Cup, two League Cup titles, the Champions League, the UEFA Super Cup and the Club World Cup.
The 57-year-old retired from Anfield after the 2023/24 season, with exhaustion being one of the main reasons. He now works as Red Bull’s global head of football, responsible for the game philosophy and development of their club network.
The German has a contract until 2030, but it is said that he can terminate the deal if he receives an offer he wants to take. Spanish media claim that Madrid are considering bringing Klopp back to the coaching job, but his agent, Marc Kosicke, has denied the rumours:
“Jürgen is very happy with his new role at Red Bull. He is fully focused and happy there.”
Zinedine Zidane
It was surprising when Real Madrid hired Zinedine Zidane as manager in January 2016 after Rafa Benitez was sacked. The former French star had no experience as a first-team coach, only as a coach of Castilla (Madrid’s B team).
But he won La Liga, Supercopa de España, two UEFA Super Cup titles, two Club World Cup titles and three Champions League titles before resigning in 2018. After a ten-month break, he returned in 2019 and won another league title before leaving the club again in 2021.
The 52-year-old has turned down several offers, including from Bayern Munich and several national teams. According to Spanish sources, he will only consider an offer from either Real Madrid or the French national team.
Raúl
After playing alongside Zidane in Madrid, Raúl can now follow in his footsteps. The former Spanish striker – the club’s all-time winningest player – retired in 2015 and returned as coach of Madrid’s youth team.
He has coached Castilla in over 200 games and won the UEFA Youth League in 2019/20. Raúl has received offers from clubs such as Villarreal and Leeds, but has remained loyal to Madrid.
The 47-year-old will get a new role at the club after the season, and many see him as a future head coach.
“He’s the perfect Madridista – he puts the club first, the team second, and then the players. I think Raúl can be Madrid’s version of Guardiola or Simeone,” said former Madrid player Jorge Valdano.
Andoni Iraola
After starting his coaching career in Cyprus, Iraola led the Mirandés memory team to the Copa del Rey semi-finals before establishing Rayo Vallecano in La Liga.
The 42-year-old joined Bournemouth in 2023 and has been considered one of Europe’s most exciting young managers. In his first season, he led the team to a 12th place, and this season they are in 8th place – with the possibility of European Cup play.
Madrid have put him on their list and a transfer could also give them an advantage in the race for Dean Huijsen. Bournemouth want to keep him, but he has a buyout clause of €11.7 million.
Michel
Michel has worked his entire coaching career in Spain and has led Rayo Vallecano, Huesca and Girona up to La Liga.
In 2023/24, he led Girona to a third-place finish and Champions League qualification – a historic achievement for the club. The 49-year-old was named La Liga coach of the year for his attacking philosophy.
Although Girona have had a tough 2024/25 season, Michel is still considered one of Spain’s best coaches – and he has also been linked with Manchester City as a possible Guardiola replacement.
Who will be Madrid’s next coach?
With Ancelotti’s departure imminent, the club will have an important choice to make. Among the favourites are Alonso, Zidane and Raúl, but also surprising names such as Iraola and Michel could come on the scene.
Read on Popidol: The Hunger Games precursor has finally found his young Haymitch
