Veteran members of the Los Blancos squad are immensely delighted with their venerable Italian manager’s return as the newly re-appointed Real Madrid manager faced the press for the first time since his return to the Spanish capital on Wednesday and did not hold back about giving his opinion on players that he is very familiar with like Gareth Bale, Eden Hazard, Marcelo and Isco.<\/p>\n
Ancelotti served very successfully as Real Madrid manager in 2013-15, and has worked with many of the old guard who are still in the club’s dressing room. Gareth Bale may have long dropped out of favor at the Santiago Bernabeu since his years with Ancelotti, but he is set to return to Madrid this summer after a loan spell in the Premier League with Tottenham, if the new manager\u2019s comments to the press are to be taken in earnest.<\/p>\n
Interestingly, Ancelotti’s arrival in Madrid may be a very good thing for the Welshman, who still has very positive things to say about his former ward.<\/p>\n
“Gareth has not played much, but he has scored a lot of goals. I know him very well and he is coming back. If he has the motivation to play, he can have a [good] season, I have no doubts,” said Ancelotti.<\/p>\n
Another player who seems to have traversed the Bale path in the past few seasons with Real Madrid is Eden Hazard. The Belgian was not yet around when Ancelotti was in charge, and he has been persistently plagued with injuries since joining the club. However, he managed to get back into action on a limited basis in the tail end of the last season. Hazard has since apologised to former manager Zinedine Zidane for not having been able to contribute as much as was expected of him, but he is still determined to make a mark as a new-generation Galactico.<\/p>\n
“[Hazard] is a player who has not fulfilled his full potential but is going to fulfil it. It may be his year to exploit it, with confidence,” said Ancelotti, making it clear that he has high hopes for Hazard.<\/p>\n
Refreshingly, the Italian also asserted that other players such as Marcelo and Isco will be given the motivation to continue working hard on the field to show him that they still have the motivation to play for Real Madrid. Although having fallen into the shadows of late, they may yet be revived with Ancelotti at the helm.<\/p>\n
As for the situation and uncertainty regarding Sergio Ramos, Ancelotti said that he has yet to talk to the club at length about the captain’s contract. He did not make any indication about whether or not he wants the Spaniard to stay. However, he made it clear that he wants to calmly evaluate the roster and make decisions on how they can best attack the summer transfer window in order to be ready for the 2021\/22 season.<\/p>\n
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