Roberto De Zerbi should succeed Carlo Ancelotti as coach of Real Madrid, various Spanish media reported on Tuesday morning. The 44-year-old Italian is seen in the Spanish capital as the ideal man to take over the work of his fellow countryman who is twenty years his senior. Ancelotti’s contract with Real expires next summer, while De Zerbi is contracted to Brighton & Hove Albion until mid-2026.
The Royal has been rejuvenating the selection for some time now, as successful players from the recent past are heading towards the end of their careers. Real’s club management sees next summer as the appropriate time to appoint a young and innovative coach.
Ancelotti is out of contract. The 64-year-old success coach is heavily linked to national coaching in Brazil, Spain and Italy Yellow Canaries. Fernando Diniz is currently interim coach of the Brazilians, but his contract expires at the end of May. Ancelotti’s employment in Madrid ends a month later, leaving the way open.
De Zerbi should make Ancelotti forget at Real, which has already contacted the coach and his management (Excellence Sport). Real chairman Florentino Pérez is charmed by the attractive and well-maintained football that De Zerbi has shown at Brighton and Shakhtar Donetsk.
In addition, Pérez believes that De Zerbi has shown that he can deal well with the new generation of footballers. With Arda Güler (18), Jude Bellingham (20), Eduardo Camavinga (21), Rodrygo (22) and Vinícius Júnior (23), Real has five young stars who should dominate global football in the coming decade.
It will not be easy for Real to loose De Zerbi from Brighton, as he is still on contract for two years after this season. The Seagulls managed to earn a decent amount of money from a manager in September 2022, when Graham Potter and his staff were taken over by Chelsea for around 25 million euros.
De Zerbi is currently in eighth place with Brighton in the Premier League, with only two points less than number six Manchester United. In the Europa League, the English mid-table is in second place in Group B with seven points. Leader Olympique Marseille took one point more, while AEK Athens and bottom Ajax did significantly less. The team from Amsterdam were defeated twice 2-0 by Brighton.