According to reports, the Italian coach admitted that his tenure at Real Madrid would end on May 25, even though no official statement had been released by the club. His deep attachment to the club made him bite his tongue on Tuesday.

After Carlo Ancelotti’s last public appearance—precisely at the press conference before the match against Mallorca—one fact became clear: although no one from the club had announced it, he would no longer be part of Real Madrid after May 26.

The strangeness of this situation lies in how the exit of Real Madrid’s most successful manager in history has been handled, where conflicting timelines and messages have created an atmosphere that, at the very least, seems unusual. Everything accelerated a week ago when Xabi Alonso confirmed his departure from Bayer Leverkusen on Friday—a step that appeared to be the first move toward taking over at Real Madrid.

The second move in this chess game occurred on Monday when the Brazilian Football Federation announced Ancelotti as their next head coach, even though he still had a year left on his contract with Real Madrid.

It was in this context that we arrived at Tuesday’s press conference, which was strange in itself. Ancelotti quickly confirmed the open secret: “From May 26, I will be the coach of the Brazil national team.” Without a statement, without an official announcement, and without the club acknowledging the Italian manager’s future, it was Ancelotti himself who implicitly confirmed his departure.

Ancelotti, more serious than ever, slightly hesitant, and with nervous coughs, left behind a cryptic message.

He said: “I am very happy, but if this press conference weren’t happening today, it would have been an extraordinary day because here I would have had to explain things I don’t want to explain. Until May 25, I will wear the Real Madrid shirt. I don’t want anyone to ask me about other things because I respect this shirt very much and want to respect it until the last day. But I am very happy with everything that is happening around me. I wanted to win La Liga and the Champions League again, but I am very happy.”

But what did he mean by ‘explaining things I don’t want to explain’?

The first and most obvious reason seems simple: Brazil. Perhaps Ancelotti was trying not to discuss his next destination until the end of his contract with Real Madrid, focusing only on the club. This was his way of showing respect to the club that gave him everything—the club where he became its most successful manager and where he was very happy. But it feels like these words went beyond that.

It seems Ancelotti was forced to be the face of an inexplicable situation. Maybe what he indirectly did not want to talk about was why Real Madrid had not officially announced his departure, even though everyone knows Xabi Alonso will replace him. Why have some players, like Rodrygo, completely disconnected from the team dynamics? Why have others, like Vinícius or Bellingham, gone silent? Or why hasn’t the club signed players in positions with absent or injured players, like the defensive line?

Ancelotti’s Open Fronts
The truth is that this season has not been easy for Ancelotti. His record will show his management of player minutes and lack of trust in the academy, but it is also true that the club did not make things easy for him. With long-term injuries and an unbalanced squad, Real Madrid did not sign players in positions Ancelotti requested, forcing him to adapt. Maybe he also did not want to talk about how the club turned its back on him.

Or perhaps, who knows, what Ancelotti did not want to say was why Real Madrid left him alone on Tuesday, why no statement has been issued yet, and why he seems to be playing the negative role in a poorly narrated story? There is a sense that despite Ancelotti’s obvious gratitude for six extraordinary years in two spells at Madrid, he has now been forced to swallow the bitter pill and keep his thoughts about his situation to himself.

One clear conclusion: For Brazil to confirm Ancelotti’s appointment on Monday, the Italian must have known about his departure from the club much earlier; otherwise, Real Madrid’s current manager would have had to call the Brazilian Federation from Montjuïc to give permission for the announcement. And that scenario does not seem likely.

Perhaps one of the things he did not want to say was: Why was he forced to be the main face in an uncomfortable position when a prior statement could have made everything easier?