Real Madrid are expected to part ways with Carlo Ancelotti in the next few weeks and will soon be in the market for a new manager.
Ancelotti has won 15 major trophies across his two tenures at the club, including three Champions Leagues and two La Liga titles.
But they have endured a difficult 2024/25 season and several reports have suggested that the 65-year-old could leave Madrid after the Copa del Rey final on April 26.
We’ve taken a look at six managers who could potentially replace Ancelotti at Real Madrid.
Xabi Alonso
One of three former Real Madrid players on this list, Alonso has emerged as the leading candidate to take over the managerial reins at the Santiago Bernabeu.
The former Spain international made 236 appearances for the club during his playing career, winning a LaLiga title, two Copa del Rey trophies and the Champions League.
After hanging up his boots in 2017, he started coaching Madrid’s Under-14s and then worked as the head coach of Real Sociedad’s B team.
In October 2022, Bayer Leverkusen gave him his first managerial role in first-team football and he’s since gone from strength to strength.
The 43-year-old won an unbeaten league and cup double with the Bundesliga side in his first full season, while also reaching the 2023/24 Europa League final.
While Bayer Leverkusen have been unable to replicate that success in 2024/25, Alonso is still one of the most highly regarded coaches in the world.
They will, however, demand a sizeable payment before letting Alonso leave, with Sky Germany citing a fee in the €15m-€20m range.
Jurgen Klopp
Klopp enjoyed a trophy-laden nine-year stay at Liverpool, winning a Premier League title, an FA Cup, two League Cups, the Champions League, the UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup
The 57-year-old stepped down from his role at Anfield at the end of the 2023/24 season, citing fatigue as one of the main reasons behind his decision.
He is now working as Red Bull’s head of global soccer, overseeing advice on playing philosophies and development across their network of clubs.
The German is under contract until 2030 but reportedly has an assurance that he can exit this deal if there is a concrete offer that he wishes to pursue.
Reports in Spain claim that Madrid are looking to bring Klopp back to the dugout, but his agent – Marc Kosicke – has appeared to shut down these rumours.
“Jurgen is very happy with his new role as Head of Global Soccer at Red Bull,” Kosicke said. “He’s fully focused and happy there.”
Zinedine Zidane
Eyebrows were raised when Real Madrid appointed Zidane as their manager in January 2016 following the sacking of Rafa Benitez.
The former France international had no previous managerial experience at senior level, having only coached Real’s youth team Castilla.
But he won a La Liga title, the Supercopa de Espana, two UEFA Super Cups, two FIFA Club World Cups and three Champions League titles before resigning in 2018.
After taking a 10-month break, Zidane returned to the Santiago Bernabeu in March 2019 and won La Liga and the Supercopa de Espana in 2019/20.
The 52-year-old left Madrid once again at the end of the 2020/21 season and has since turned down several high-profile roles, including offers from Bayern Munich and various national teams.
According to reports in Spain, he will only accept an offer if it comes from either Real Madrid or the French national team.
France manager Didier Deschamps will only leave his role after the 2026 World Cup and a third spell in the Bernabeu dugout could be on the cards for Zidane.
Raul
Having played alongside Zidane at Real Madrid, Raul could now follow in the footsteps of his former teammate.
The former Spain international – who is Madrid’s all-time record appearance maker – retired in 2015 after brief stints at Schalke, Al Sadd and New York Cosmos.
He then returned to Madrid to begin his coaching career, initially working with the Under-15s before taking over the Castilla in 2019.
The 47-year-old has now taken charge of over 200 Castilla matches and also coached their Under-19s to their first-ever UEFA Youth League title in 2019/20.
His work has attracted interest from Villarreal, Eintracht Frankfurt, Schalke 04 and Leeds United, but he’s expressed his commitment to Madrid.
Raul is reportedly going to get a different role at the club at the end of the 2024/25 season and could now be in line for a promotion.
“His instincts are rock-solid Madridista, he puts the club first, then the team, then the individual players,” former Madrid player Jorge Valdano said.
“I believe that in Raul, Madrid can find their version of [Pep] Guardiola or [Diego] Simeone, which is to say someone who’s the perfect embodiment of their institutional character.”
Andoni Iraola
After starting his managerial career at Cypriot side AEK Larnaca, Iraola took Spanish minnows Mirandes to the Copa del Rey semi-final in 2019/20 before establishing Rayo Vallecano in LaLiga.
The 42-year-old moved to the Premier League with Bournemouth in the summer of 2023 and has since forged a reputation as one of Europe’s most exciting young coaches.
In his first season at the club, he led the Cherries to a 12th-place finish in the Premier League and a record-breaking points tally.
The Spaniard has since broken that record again, with his side currently eighth in the Premier League and hoping to secure European qualification for the first time.
Madrid have reportedly added Iraola to their shortlist and hiring him could also give them an advantage in the race for Dean Huijsen’s signature.
While Bournemouth are determined to keep their manager at the club, he does have a £10million (€11.7m, $13.3m) release clause in his contract.
Michel
Michel has spent all of his managerial career in Spain, winning promotion to LaLiga with Rayo Vallecano, Huesca and Girona.
He also guided Girona to a third-place finish in LaLiga in 2023/24, making them qualify for the Champions League for the first time in the club’s 94-year history.
The 49-year-old won a lot of plaudits for their fearless attacking style and was named the 2023/24 LaLiga Manager of the Season.
But they were unable to keep the likes of Artem Dovbyk, Savinho and Yan Couto and have endured a difficult 2024/25 season.
Michel is still held in high regard and has been mentioned as a potential replacement for Pep Guardiola at Manchester City.
