Ancelotti announces Real Madrid Club World Cup boycott and adds: “Milan is in my heart” | OneFootball

Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti has branded AC Milan as ‘special’ because of the role they played in his career, while he also announced that his current club are planning to boycott the Club World Cup.

Ancelotti’s name will forever remain synonymous with Milan, given that he won seven major trophies during his playing career with the Rossoneri and then won eight as a manager, including the Scudetto and two Champions League titles.

The Italian gave an interview to Il Giornale in which he spoke about the two clubs he is most attached to, namely Milan and Real, with his comments relayed by MilanNews.

“Madrid is special. Milan is in my heart, I played, I was a coach, it is a big part of my professional life . Real is Real, what better could there be? Here we have it’s respect for history, all the players of the past are present in the photographs at the training centre.”

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During the interview, Ancelotti then announced that Los Blancos will not participate in the next FIFA Club World Cup which is set for a big relaunch in 2025.

“Players and clubs won’t participate in that tournament. One single Real Madrid game is worth €20m, and FIFA want to give us that amount for the entire competition. Negative. Just like us, other clubs will refuse the invitation.”

The new-look FIFA Club World Cup is aimed at replicating the success of federation-based competitions like the Champions League and the Copa Libertadores, expanding from seven teams to 32.

The breakdown is as follows: there will be 12 teams from UEFA, six from CONMEBOL, four each from CONCACAF, CAF and the AFC, one from Oceania’s OFC and one from the host country, the United States.