'Stress is fuel' - Ancelotti plays down Real pressure

Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti remains tight-lipped over his future at the club ahead of what could be a decisive week, with a La Liga game away to Getafe on Wednesday and the final of the Copa del Rey against FC Barcelona on Saturday.

The press has speculated the Italian will leave Real Madrid at the end of the season in the wake of last week's Champions League exit to Arsenal. But speaking to the press, Ancelotti didn't seem like a man worried about his future.

Real Madrid's Carlo Ancelotti (R) communicates with Espanyol's Vicente Moreno Peris before a Spanish La Liga football match between RCD Espanyol and Real Madrid in Madrid, Spain, on April 30, 2022. Real Madrid won 4-0 and claimed 35th La Liga title. (Xinhua/Meng Dingbo)

"I love this job and I hope this can continue as long as possible, it ends one day, then I will be grateful and I'll take my hat off to this club. Nothing more," he said.

The coach admitted it had been a complicated season, "things could have been better and I have to take responsibility for some mistakes. But this is an evaluation we can make at the end of the season," commented Ancelotti, who implied the club was still supporting him.

"The club is aware that it's been a more complicated year than the last. And together we handle the difficulties. The honeymoon continues," commented the coach.

"You see success very close, and it's normal for stress to increase, but stress is fuel for me; it doesn't bother me," he explained.

Ancelotti did admit he had not been involved in planning for next season, but explained that was not unusual.

"Here, we've never thought about signings during the season. The club always thinks about signings at the end of the season," the Italian explained.

The coach also said that Kylian Mbappe and Ferland Mendy were back in training after their respective injuries, but said they wouldn't play on Wednesday to ensure they were fit for Saturday night.