According to reports, Carlo Ancelotti, while preparing Real Madrid for their upcoming La Liga match against Mallorca, has practically begun his work as the head coach of the Brazil national team. He must make his first major decision as the leader of Seleção without delay this week.

The Brazilian Football Federation had requested the Italian coach to act as quickly as possible, as time was running out, and there were heated debates in Brazil about who would prepare the preliminary list of players for the two 2026 World Cup qualifiers in June. This list must be submitted to FIFA by next Sunday, May 18.

Real Madrid’s painful defeat in Montjuïc, which confirmed Barcelona’s fourth consecutive victory in head-to-head matches in a single season, has accelerated everything and worked in favor of Brazil’s interests.

Ancelotti’s farewell is a curtain that Florentino Pérez needed to cover the bitter failures and defeats of the season.

On Monday, Ednaldo Rodrigues, the controversial president of the Brazilian Football Federation, announced that they had hired “the best coach in history” as head coach until the end of the 2026 World Cup—a description he used for Ancelotti in these low-profile days. He will receive an annual salary of €10 million, with a €5 million bonus if Brazil wins their sixth world title.

Thus, the debate in Brazilian media about who would prepare this preliminary list for the World Cup qualifiers against Ecuador and Paraguay has ended.

From this preliminary list, 23 final players will be selected. This process, which had become a national issue in Brazil, gained importance due to the absence of a coach in Seleção—a team that had been without a head coach for a month and a half after the sudden dismissal of Dorival Júnior following a 4-1 defeat against Argentina in Buenos Aires.

In March, the federation announced a list of 52 players for FIFA. This unusual decision was made to value the return of Neymar Jr., but he withdrew from the list due to a muscle injury in his left thigh, which recurred after an early comeback, and remains injured.

Ancelotti will finish La Liga with Real Madrid and, after his last match against Real Sociedad at the Bernabéu, scheduled for May 24 or 25, he will immediately travel to Rio de Janeiro. No exact date has been set for his official introduction as head coach or the announcement of his first squad list—an event that in Brazil is usually accompanied by a press conference.