Carlo Ancelotti is one of the most successful coaches in Europe. He has won the biggest
trophies working with the biggest clubs across the continent. This man has Juventus,
Bayern Munich, PSG, Chelsea, Napoli, AC Milan, and Real Madrid on his CV.
We could pick any of these great clubs and look at players he signed while he was there,
but today, we want to focus on his current club.
The very first player Ancelotti signed after he became coach of Real Madrid in 2013 was Isco. The
club signed him for 30 million euros from Malaga just after the Under-21 Euros tournament in 2013.
Isco went on to shine at the Bernabeu and he helped the
club win the Champions League in just his first season there. He
got so good that Zidane drew comparisons between himself and the young Spaniard.
Isco went on to win 5 more Champions League titles
and a number of other trophies with the club including 3 La Liga titles.
Isco finally said goodbye to Real Madrid in 2022 after 9 years at the club, and he sealed
a move to Sevilla. 4 months after his move, the coach said the midfielder did not meet the club’s
expectations, so they planned to sell him in the January transfer window to Union Berlin.
When the window opened, Isco went for his medicals, passed it,
and the transfer was all but done, only for the entire move to collapse
at the very last minute. The German club said that what Isco was asking for was
different from what they had originally agreed upon, so the move didn’t happen.
Now, Isco is 31 years old and without a club.
We only have to wait and see if he’ll be able to find a club in the summer.
Now, back to the summer of 2013. Ancelotti also signed Asier Illaramendi. The club
paid 32.2 million euros to bring the 23-year-old midfielder from Real Sociedad,
and that made him the most expensive Spanish player in Real Madrid’s history.
He played 11 games in the Champions League that season as Real Madrid went on to win
the trophy. A very successful debut season was followed by a much less successful sophomore one,
after which Illaremendi became surplus to requirements at the
Bernabeu and one of the reasons is the guy we’ll talk about next.
So, he returned to Real Sociedad in 2015 and has remained there since. He now captains the club.
To wrap up 2013, Ancelotti signed Gareth Bale for 100 million euros, making him the most
expensive player in the world at the time. And Bale delivered quick returns. He scored in the
Copa del Rey and Champions League finals in his debut season to deliver the double for Madrid.
He would go on to do more over the years including scoring the 2 goals
that won Madrid the UCL in 2018, but his relationship with the club broke in 2020,
and he left to return to Spurs on a loan deal until 2021.
He finally left Madrid and joined LAFC in 2022.
In November of that year, he led Wales to their first World Cup in 64 years. A month after the
tournament, he announced his retirement from football and went straight to focus on golf.
In February 2023, he competed in the PGA Tour in California.
Now to 2014. Ancelotti signed Toni Kroos from Bayern Munich as Xabi Alonso went the other way.
But signing Kroos was actually not easy. The German midfielder was set
to join Manchester United that summer. He had already reached an agreement with David Moyes
to move to Old Trafford. But Moyes got sacked that summer and his replacement,
Louis van Gaal, refused to sign him, so Ancelotti swooped in and
put a call through to Kroos around the time the 2014 World Cup was being held.
The call did the trick and Kross signed with Real Madrid in July
2014. Just a month after joining, he won his first trophy with the club,
the UEFA Super Cup. That was a sign of amazing things to come.
Since then, Kroos has helped Madrid win 4
Champions League and 3 La Liga titles, among other trophies.
He recently extended his contract with the club till 2024,
so we’re sure that the 33-year-old will be at the club for, at least,
one more season. But this next guy who joined that same summer has already left the club.
After amazing performances at Levante in the 2013-14 season,
becoming the first goalkeeper to win the La Liga Player of the Month award,
Keylor Navas was immediately snatched up by Ancelotti for 10 million euros.
In his first season, he was second choice to Iker Casillas,
but the Spanish legend left in 2015, and Keylor Navas became number 1.
He would go on to man the sticks as Real Madrid won the Champions League that season,
but that’s not exactly how the club wanted it. In the summer of 2015,
they tried to send him to Man United in order to get David De Gea to join the club,
but the deal fell through on deadline day and Navas remained.
He ended up being Madrid’s first choice goalie and a
major contributor to their historic 3-peat squad.
Then in 2018, Madrid signed Courtois and that was the beginning of the end of his time at
the club. Navas was eventually sold to PSG in 2019 and he was there until January 2023 when
he moved to Nottingham Forest on loan following a lack of game time at the
Parisian club. It remains uncertain where the CostaRican goalie will be playing next season.
Moving on to the starboy of the 2014 world cup, James Rodriguez. The Colombian midfielder
was signed in July 2014 after his amazing performances at the World Cup that summer,
and he turned out to be one of Ancelotti’s favorite players.
Madrid paid 63 million pounds for him and made him the 4th
most expensive player in the world at the time.
Following Ancelotti’s exit, James’ importance in Madrid began to dwindle. Then when the
Italian manager moved to Bayern Munich, he brought James over on a 2-year loan in 2017.
After his loan spell, he returned to Madrid where he spent one year at Madrid,
playing just 8 La Liga games all season.
Then in 2020, after Ancelotti had moved to Everton, he called on his favorite
boy to join him yet again. Carlo signed the Colombian in 2020 and things were
going well for him there until Ancelotti received a call to return to Real Madrid.
The Italian gaffer went back to the Spanish capital in 2021,
and James was unable to find himself again, so he was sold to Al-Rayyan in Qatar.
A year later, James’ contract with the club was terminated by mutual consent
and he returned to Europe, joining Greek club Olympiacos. In April 2023,
his contract with the club was terminated by mutual consent,
so he’s without a club right now, and it’s unclear where he’ll be playing next season.
Now, before the 2014 summer transfer window closed, Ancelotti added another
striker to the fold in the person of Javier Hernandez, popularly known as Chicharito.
The Mexican striker was signed on loan from Manchester United, so after one season,
he returned to Man United who then sold him to Bayer Leverkusen. After
2 years in Germany, he returned to the Premier League, signing with West Ham.
In 2019, he left West Ham and moved to Sevilla where he spent
one year before moving to LA Galaxy in the MLS where he currently plays.
Halfway into the 2014-15 season, Ancelotti signed
21-year-old Lucas Silva for 14 million euros from Brazilian club, Cruzeiro.
In the summer of 2015, the Brazilian midfielder was loaned out to Marseille. After 5 months there,
the Marseille chairman asked him to terminate his contract and leave
to Anderlecht but he didn’t accept and decided to finish his loan spell there.
After a year at Marseille, he returned to Cruzeiro for another loan spell in 2017.
He spent two years there on loan before then moving to another Brazilian club,
Gremio, on a permanent deal in 2020.
That was all for Carlo Ancelotti’s first stint as Real Madrid boss. As you know,
he rejoined the club in 2021 and since then, he has signed 3 players.
He signed the bargain of this decade apparently, the 18-year-old Eduardo Camavinga for only 28
million pounds. The youngster won the Champions League and La Liga with the club in his first
season, and in his second season, he was able to complete club football,
winning everything there is to win in club football at the age of 20.
He is also showing his versatility, playing well as a midfielder and a left-back.
In 2022, Ancelotti signed Aurelien Tchouameni for
80 million euros from Monaco and he has been a good squad player so far.
Another person who has been a great squad player so far is Antonio Rudiger. Ancelotti signed the
German center-back for free from Chelsea and he has been nothing short of great.
Well, there you have it! 11 players Carlo Ancelotti has signed as coach of Real Madrid
and where they are now. Who do you think his next signing will be? Will he even have a next signing
or will he be leaving the club in the summer? Share your thoughts with us in the comments.
If you enjoyed this video, give it a thumbs up and subscribe to the channel. Also, turn
on the bell notification so you never miss out on new content. Catch you in the next one. Bye!