Carlo Ancelotti has ruled out signing a defender this month, backing Real Madrid’s existing squad to cope in the absence of first-choice centre-back pairing Éder Militão and David Alaba.
Militão has been out long-term since August with an ACL tear, while Alaba suffered the same injury in Madrid’s 4-1 win over Villarreal on Dec. 17.
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Before Christmas, Ancelotti said that the club would consider a move in the January transfer window, but the Italian coach — who signed a new, two-year contract extension himself last week — dismissed that possibility on Tuesday.
“At this moment, we aren’t considering signing another centre back,” Ancelotti said in a news conference ahead of Madrid’s first game of 2024, against Real Mallorca in LaLiga.
“We’re lacking important players, but we have another two who we believe in, Nacho [Fernández] and [Antonio] Rüdiger, and two others who can play there, [Aurélien] Tchouaméni and [Dani] Carvajal. So right now we aren’t considering a signing.”
When pushed on whether that decision was definitive, Ancelotti was unequivocal.
“I’ll repeat myself: yes, we won’t sign,” he said.
Ancelotti refused to address speculation that Madrid will initiate talks this month with Kylian Mbappé — who is now free to negotiate after entering the last six months of his Paris Saint-Germain contract — saying “I won’t touch that subject,” and said Madrid’s squad would need minimal reinforcements next summer.
“First of all there are players whose contracts are up, they’ll choose what they want to do,” he said. “I’m talking about [Toni] Kroos, Nacho, Luka Modric. “The future is already written, there isn’t much to do. This team is already heading in the right direction, with very interesting young players. We aren’t thinking about June yet, but there isn’t much to do.”
Madrid announced Ancelotti’s new deal until June 2026 on Friday, after repeated speculation linking him with the Brazil national team.
“The reality is what everyone knows,” Ancelotti said on Tuesday. “I had contact with the [now former] president of the Brazilian federation, Ednaldo Rodrigues. I want to thank him for the affection and the interest, it made me very proud, but what’s clear to everyone is it depended on my situation at Real Madrid.
“I’m grateful for the interest but in the end it turned out how I wanted: staying here.
“It’s exciting to think about, but I don’t know if the Brazil national team will want me in 2026,” he added, when asked if he’d consider the job in the future. “Obviously I’m very happy with my renewal. It was quite straightforward, it was fast, without problems, without doubts.
“It’s my last job, that’s what I’ve said before and I confirm it. But when this [contract] is over in 2026, I could carry on. It depends on the success we have… I’ll be coach until 2026 and let’s hope in 2027 and 2028.”
Madrid — who begin 2024 top of LaLiga after 18 games, level on points with Girona — host Mallorca at the Santiago Bernabeu with Vinícius Júnior, Dani Carvajal and Arda Güler available after recovering from injury.
“Vinícius, Carvajal and Arda [are back],” Ancelotti said. “[Eduardo] Camavinga and [Ferland] Mendy will be back next week. So the news is good… [Güler] is getting back to his level. If I can give him minutes tomorrow, I will.”