Real Madrid have confirmed they have re-appointed Carlo Ancelotti as manager after reports claim he accepted a pay cut in order to leave Everton and take the job.

The tactician officially signed the contract to June 2024 this evening.

It was a return to the Bernabeu, where he had won the Champions League during his 2013-15 tenure.

According to Sky Sport Italia and Tuttomercatoweb, the contract is worth €6m per season.

This is a pay cut from the €8m per season that Ancelotti was picking up at Everton.

The Italian turns 62 later this month and has won a title in all five major leagues except for Spain.

He won Serie A with Milan, the Premier League for Chelsea, Ligue 1 at PSG and the Bundesliga on the Bayern Munich bench.

Although he did win the Champions League for Real Madrid in 2014, the Club World Cup, the UEFA Supercup and Copa del Rey, he did not take La Liga.

A Los Blancos statement read: “Real Madrid C. F. announces that Carlo Ancelotti will be the club’s first-team coach for the next three seasons.

“The ceremonial signing of the contract will take place tomorrow with club president Florentino Pérez at Real Madrid City, after which Ancelotti will address the media from 6pm (CET) in an online press conference.”

Everton said: “Everton can confirm that Carlo Ancelotti has left his position as manager to take up the role of Head Coach at Real Madrid.

👋 #WelcomeBackAncelotti
👉 @MrAncelotti pic.twitter.com/yY5NKF5tsd

— Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) June 1, 2021

“Everton would like to place on record its thanks to Carlo for his service to the Club over the past 18 months. The Club will begin the process of appointing a new manager immediately and will provide updates in due course.”

Ancelotti, who joined Everton on a four-and-a-half-year contract in December 2019, said: “I would like to thank the Board of Directors, the players, and the Evertonians for the tremendous support they have all given me during my time at the Club.

“I have complete respect for everyone associated with Everton and hope they can achieve the exciting opportunities they have in front of them.

“While I have enjoyed being at Everton I have been presented with an unexpected opportunity which I believe is the right move for me and my family at this time.”

Photo Credit: realmadriden/Twitter

Bayern Munich and Germany great Lothar Matthaus has launched a scathing attack on Pep Guardiola by insisting that he stole the Champions League trophy from Manchester City because of his team selection for the final.

Boss Guardiola has been accused on several occasions of tinkering with a winning formula, moves that have proved costly in several crunch ties during his Etihad tenure, and he has come under fresh fire after the defeat in Porto.

Having opted to field no recognised defensive midfielder, and favouring a false nine, Guardiola was left helpless on the touchline as his City team failed to break down Chelsea, who went on to win through Kai Havertz’s first-half goal.

The surprisingly limp display from the Premier League champions saw plenty of the blame pinned on Guardiola, and Matthaus has suggested the manner of the loss may spark discontent in the dressing room.

In his column for Sky, Matthaus wrote: “He stole the Champions League from the club and the fans through his line-up and he has to rightly hear the harsh criticism from all sides now.’

He then went on to add: “I am sure that there will be internal discussions about whether to part with him. The players will doubt him since that final.

“Some of the players on the field didn’t even know where they were going because he placed them in positions that were unfamiliar to them,” Matthaus added.

“That’s the worst thing a coach can do. Inexplicable and unforgivable. He’s guaranteed to have lost a lot of credit for everyone, both internally and externally. Most of all with his players. And that can hardly be regained.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if Pep Guardiola’s time at Manchester City is over now.”

This is not the first time that Matthaus has openly taken aim at former Bayern Munich boss Guardiola, however. City’s shock Champions League exit at the hands of Lyon last season led to similar criticism.

“He had to try something again, present an imaginary ingenuity at the worst possible moment, and totally deserved to lose.”

With no Fernandinho or Rodri to anchor down City in the centre of the field, Chelsea looked comfortable in large parts of the game and defended superbly after half-time to seal their second success in the competition.

And, despite City still winning two trophies this season, Guardiola’s credentials have been heavily scrutinised by Matthaus, who believes he was guilty of making a coach’s ‘worst’ mistake at the weekend.