According to reports, Carlo Ancelotti’s future at Real Madrid is shrouded in uncertainty. The manager has one year left on his contract, but after a painful Champions League elimination by Arsenal, the end of the season could be long and difficult for him.

Ironically, the team poised to deliver the final blow to his tenure is Barcelona under Hans-Dieter Flick. With Barcelona leading La Liga, the Copa del Rey final on April 26 will be a tough test for a psychologically battered Real Madrid.

Florentino Perez, Real Madrid’s president, said earlier this season: “Barca and Real must help each other; I say this with complete sincerity. We must think about this club being one of the greatest in the world. Why should we have differences?”

Now those words have come true—from signing Dani Olmo and Pau Victor to a truce with Barcelona, and finally, the sporting rivalry between the two clubs. Barcelona won the first title of the season in a bizarre Spanish Super Cup match, defeating Real Madrid 5-2, and then delivered another blow with a 4-0 victory at the Santiago Bernabéu.

Rumors from Ancelotti’s inner circle and the dressing room suggest deep fractures that could jeopardize his contract. The euphoria of last season is gone.

Ancelotti recently said: “The most important thing is that the most important person (Florentino) is calm. As long as he isn’t tired, the rest don’t matter to me.” He knows the only way to stay at Real Madrid is by winning trophies.

What His Previous Sacking Taught Him

After his 2015 dismissal, Ancelotti told L’Équipe: “A coach is judged only on results because no one knows our daily work. Results are seen, but no one knows about the rest—how the coach motivates players or his relationship with them.”

He added: “There’s also the invisible work—relations with fans and media. But that’s a coach’s life. If results are good, you’re a good coach; if bad, you’re a bad one. A good coach is someone who can transmit an identity to his team. At Real Madrid, if you don’t win, you’re sacked. It’s not normal, but when I signed the contract, I knew this could happen.”

The problem is that the current Real Madrid lacks a clear identity. Players criticized Ancelotti’s tactics after the Arsenal defeat, as seen in Thibaut Courtois’ comments.

The Belgian goalkeeper said: “They defend well, press well. It’s hard to find space. Maybe we should’ve taken long shots or crossed more. We sent many crosses into the box, but we no longer have a striker like [Karim] Benzema.”

Dressing Room Discontent with Ancelotti

Courtois continued: “This year, we don’t have a proper No. 9 like Benzema. Maybe sometimes we need to criticize ourselves and analyze everything. I feel we’re a team, but sometimes we need to play more collectively, not individually. If Vinícius or [Kylian] Mbappé are double-marked, maybe it works once, but not always. We need to analyze this and criticize ourselves.” He then stressed that Ancelotti’s message “gets through” to the team.

But the reality is that not everyone receives it—or at least not all players—when Ancelotti repeatedly speaks about the team’s lack of defensive commitment and some players’ negligence, especially attackers, in defensive duties.

He said this after the 3-0 loss in London: “The team collapsed because there was no collective reaction, and everyone played for themselves. This penalized us; we lost our structure, they controlled the ball better, and that decided the result. Throughout the season, we’ve had problems becoming a cohesive unit. We couldn’t do it.” Will the team respond, or will they collapse again when things go wrong?

Brazil and the Club World Cup

With the Club World Cup approaching (June 18), which could bring Real Madrid up to €150 million if they win, and with Brazilian representatives in Madrid eyeing Ancelotti ahead of a crucial World Cup qualifier against Ecuador (June 4), this new FIFA tournament holds great importance for all parties involved. The main reason is financial, as Real Madrid could secure massive profits by winning.

Meanwhile, Hans-Dieter Flick and Barcelona are ready to possibly drive the final nail into Ancelotti’s Real Madrid coffin. Florentino, who wanted a strong Barcelona, may now witness that very Barcelona, under Flick, end Ancelotti’s project.