Real Madrid’s Ancelotti set for exit talks with Pérez

Carlo Ancelotti will meet with Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez in the coming days to discuss the coach’s departure from the club, a source told ESPN.

Madrid were beaten 3-2 after extra time by Barcelona in the Copa del Rey final on Saturday, a defeat that followed their 5-1 aggregate Champions League elimination by Arsenal in the quarterfinals earlier this month. The team remains four points off the top of LaLiga with five games left.

Ancelotti has a contract at Madrid until 2026 but has faced persistent speculation over his future throughout this season. ESPN reported last week that talks had resumed between the Brazilian Football Confederation and Ancelotti’s camp regarding his taking over the Brazil national team.

A source told ESPN that Ancelotti and Pérez will meet in the next few days, with the expected outcome being an agreement for the coach to leave the club after the last LaLiga game of the season, against Real Sociedad.

Ancelotti is one of the most successful coaches in the club’s history, winning three Champions Leagues and two LaLiga titles in two spells at the Santiago Bernabéu.

“Whether I continue [at Madrid] is an issue for the coming weeks, not for today,” Ancelotti said when questioned about his future in a news conference following Madrid’s loss Saturday.

On April 19, the Italian admitted that he and the club would “analyze things at the end of the season” and wouldn’t confirm that he would be in charge for Madrid’s FIFA Club World Cup campaign this summer.

“We’re still competing for trophies,” Ancelotti said. “I don’t want to talk about my future. We’ll talk about it with the club at the end of the season.

“I’ve always had a great relationship with the club. There’ll be no confrontation.”

The source would not confirm who would take over for Ancelotti, although they said the most likely short-term scenario — with Madrid’s Club World Cup campaign due to begin June 18 — was an internal interim appointment such as director of football Santiago Solari, Castilla coach Raul Gonzalez or under-19s coach Alvaro Arbeloa.