There is a game of chicken going on between Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain over the future services of Carlo Ancelotti.
It has been clear for months that Real Madrid want Ancelotti to replace Jose Mourinho. The problem is that Ancelotti has one year left on his PSG contract and the French champions do not seem inclined to let him walk away for free.
Earlier this week Nasser al-Khelaïfi, the owner of PSG, expressed his displeasure at how Madrid was tapping up his manager in an interview with ‘L’Equipe’:
“If Carlo Ancelotti left Paris, it would be a problem. A few days ago, the general manager of Real Madrid (Jose Angel Sanchez) contacted me to talk to (Ancelotti). Very quickly, I told them: If you want to have Carlo, you need to know that he has a year left on his contract, so please respect the contract”.
Also, club president, al-Khelaïfi was unhappy with the way Real Madrid had acted and assured that he intended for Ancelotti to fulfil his contract:
“We respect all clubs. We expect the same in return. Today we do not have the same stature as Real Madrid, but we do deserve the same respect. He (Jose Angel Sanchez) apologised and told me he had thought Ancelotti’s contract was expiring but I told him that was wrong and that Carlo has another year with us. He told me they would take that into account.”
Ancelotti does have a release clause of around £3.4m but so far Real Madrid are refusing to pay that. According to Marca, Real president Florentino Perez has told Ancelotti he must negotiate an exit from PSG that does not involve financial compensation.
If Ancelotti cannot get PSG owner Nasser Al-Khelaifi to release him from his contract, and it sounds like that is not something he is willing to do, then will Real Madrid move to Plan B and hire Rafa Benitez?
