Real Madrid are reportedly having some serious second thoughts about their considering head coach Carlo Ancelotti and and said to be considering replacing him with Manchester United target Mauricio Pochettino.
Spanish publication AS reports that Madrid president Florentino Perez was left fuming with his head coach’s deployment of defensive tactics that had resulted in Madrid’s 1-0 loss in the first leg of their Champions League last 16 tie against Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday.
PSG, under the management of Pochettino, clearly dominated the proceedings at the Parc des Princes and emerged winners with a 1-0 victory, courtesy of a classy goal in injury time from Kylian Mbappe.
Although it now looks possible that Ancelotti’s future at the Bernabeu could be resting precariously on the result of the second leg at the Santiago Bernabeu on March 12, it is still highly unlikely Madrid will resort to any drastic actions before the end of the season as the club are still four points clear at the top of La Liga.
However, caution aside, news is emerging that Perez is considering replacing the former Everton manager in the summer, who had signed a three-year contract with Madrid in June.
Highly-touted former Southampton and Tottenham manager Pochettino is now said to be the key target in the crosshairs of Madrid, who are also well aware of Manchester United’s keen interest in the PSG manager.
Besides the Argentine, Perez is also long known to be an ardent admirer of Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp but it would be immensely difficult to pry the German away from Anfield, where he is under contract until 2024.
The report alleges that Madrid would need to pick up the pace and move quickly at the end of the season to beat United to get their man as the Argentine had already been in talks to take charge at Old Trafford in November after Norwegian Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was sacked.
However, things played out not to expectations as Pochettino opted to remain at PSG and United instead ended up appointing Ralf Rangnick as interim manager until the end of the season.
Pochettino, however, still remains in strong contention to become United’s next permanent manager, with Ajax boss Erik Ten Hag also in the fray being heavily considered for the role.