Carlo Ancelotti breaks silence on his Real Madrid future: That's not for me to decide

Real Madrid head coach Carlo Ancelotti addressed his future at the La Liga club amid reports that he was planning to leave Madrid at the end of the season.

In Short

• Carlo Ancelotti said he had no plans to leave Real Madrid soon
• Ancelotti is under contract at Real Madrid until 2026
• Real Madrid are struggling in Champions League

Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti has broken his silence on his future with the La Liga giants, dismissing reports that he plans to leave Los Blancos at the end of the season. The Italian coach returned to the Santiago Bernabéu for a second stint in 2021 and has since won two La Liga titles and two UEFA Champions League trophies.

"I will never decide to leave Real Madrid," Ancelotti told reporters ahead of the Champions League match against Red Bull Salzburg.

"This day will come, but it won't be me the one who decides. It could be tomorrow or in five years. The plan is to be here with Florentino [Perez] for another four years and say goodbye."

Real Madrid are languishing in 20th place in the Champions League points table after losing half of their UCL matches. "We don't have a lot of chances to make it into the top eight," Ancelotti said. "But if we have to play the extra games we will do it as best we can. We are used to a very demanding calendar already."

Ancelotti was satisfied with Madrid's forward line but emphasised the need for defensive improvements to compete for the Champions League title.

"It's hard to give a grade from one to 100 to the team right now," he said. "Offensively we're performing very well but defensively we need to improve a lot. This will be the key to success this season. If we do that we'll fight to the end in all competitions.

"We have a very complete squad and, considering what happened last year when the departures raised the level of commitment, we found inspiration. We're ready to fight for it all again this year."

Madrid will face Red Bull Salzburg in the Champions League on Wednesday.