Real Madrid president has prepared a five-man shortlist as Ancelotti replacements – report | OneFootball

The Madrid media has been working hard on the topic of Carlo Ancelotti’s future at the club. With his side struggling to dominate like they did last season, the Italian tactician faces a serious possibility of losing his job come June.

Reports regarding his potential successor have been thrown at the drop of a hat, making it difficult to read into the authenticity of the claims.

El Confidencial (h/t Madrid Xtra) attempts to summarise all the candidates being considered by Florentino Perez and reports that there are five contenders.

Raul Gonzalez, the current manager at the Castilla, is one of the best-placed candidates. The club legend has guided the subsidiary team to fourth place in the league standings, just six points behind the leaders of the Primera RFEF division. It would only be just to give him the promotion he deserved.

Yet, there are managers with UEFA Champions League experience available on the market who boast of a CV far superior to Raul. One such candidate is Julian Nagelsmann who was fired yesterday at Bayern Munich.

The German coach had the Bavarians just one point off the Bundesliga standings’ summit and in the quarterfinal of the UCL. He has spoken about being open to coaching Real Madrid in the past and could thus arrive in the summer.

Xabi Alonso is the third name on the table and another who, like Raul, lacks experience at the highest level. Yet, if his current stint at Bayer Leverkusen is anything to go by, he has the tactical acumen required to succeed managing a top club.

Mauricio Pochettino and Zinedine Zidane are two other names discussed internally in the club offices. Both managers are currently without a club and would be available easily in June. However, the Argentine’s disappointing spell at PSG may spark doubts over his appointment, and it is not clear if Zidane would favour a return for the third time.