Ancelotti talks Vinicius, Courtois, Ceballos, Tchouameni, Tebas, Barcelona, Brazil ahead of Real Madrid vs Leganes | OneFootball

After the international break, Real Madrid will be back in action in La Liga on Saturday as they take on Leganes at the Santiago Bernabeu.

The La Liga champions are currently behind Barcelona in the table and cannot afford to drop any points and lose further ground in the title race.

Ahead of the match on Saturday, Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti addressed the media today, talking about the barbs taken at the club by Javier Tebas, among other things.

Kicking things off, the Italian gave an update on the state of the team following the international break, saying:

“The team is pretty good. The players who have returned have had plenty of time to recover. I’ve given them a few days rest. We have a lot of games from tomorrow until the end.

“Every game increases the responsibility we have because every game can be decisive to win the three titles we can win.”

On whether Barcelona already have won the La Liga title, he noted: “No, Barcelona have the advantage, but we have the Clasico and there are many games left.

“We have to do as much as possible, starting with tomorrow. Hopefully we have 17 games left, because that means we will fight in all competitions until the end.”

Responding to comments made by Tebas regarding Real Madrid and Ancelotti’s complaints about the lack of rest between games, the legendary manager noted:

“Do I have to answer you? I already knew about the obsession he has with Real Madrid, not who the coach is. He has to focus more on his own things because he is disrespecting Real Madrid and also the coaches.”

Meanwhile, rumours of Ancelotti being a target for the Brazil national team are doing the rounds again, with the Selecao looking to replace Dorival Junior.

Amid the speculations, Real Madrid and Brazil legend Ronaldo had said that he had tried to convince Ancelotti to take over the national team reins in the past.

Responding to those claims, the Italian said: “I don’t remember talking to Ronaldo about this.”

On being asked if he wanted to continue at Real Madrid amidst the speculations, he added:

“The contract is clear. I have nothing to add to that. I love Brazil, the players and the fans, but I have a contract here with Real Madrid.”

Ancelotti was further probed if there had been any contact from the Brazil Football Confederation (CBF), to which he replied: “No, simply no.”

Ancelotti is linked with the Brazil job again. (Photo by Aitor Alcalde/Getty Images)

When asked if he had paid attention to all the rumours during the international break, he said:

“I had a great time, because I went to Italy to see my ‘great-grandparents’ and I loved it very much. Fortunately I haven’t read all these things.”

Ancelotti was then asked if he ever gets the feeling that there are people who want him out of Real Madrid, to which he said:

“No, I have a lot of things to think about. What’s going on around the market doesn’t matter to me. I’m focused on this stretch of the season, which is vital for us.

“My job is to focus on the players to get the best possible performance. We have something very close and we don’t want to lose it.”

The Italian also responded to claims that he was facing a potential prison sentence for possible tax fraud dating back over a decade.

“There are a lot of issues on the table. I have to go to testify and I will do it on Wednesday. This is not the place to discuss this. What is next week is an appeal made by the prosecution,” said Ancelotti.

“I won the first trial and I have total confidence in the law and justice. I am not worried. It bothers me that they say I have defrauded, but I am going to testify with enthusiasm.”

On whether he plans to rest Vinicius Jr. against Leganes tomorrow, Ancelotti replied: “Let’s see. He’s back in good condition. I have the option to rotate someone. You can see the lineup tomorrow.”

Commenting on the impressive form displayed by Aurelien Tchouameni in recent weeks as well as the injuries to Dani Ceballos and Ferland Mendy, the Italian remarked:

“For Tchouameni it’s the same as I’ve said for the others. We have a fairly complete squad, we’re going to get Ceballos and Mendy back soon and he can be included in the rotations we’re going to make in the next few games.”

Providing an update on when fans can expect to see Thibaut Courtois, Mendy and Ceballos back, he added:

“Courtois is a small thing, in a few days he can recover. And we expect Mendy and Ceballos in the Champions League first leg against Arsenal.”

The Real Madrid also commented on UEFA opening an investigation into some of his players over their celebrations against Atletico Madrid after the Champions League win, saying:

“We trust UEFA. We believe that everything has been correct. We are waiting for UEFA to tell us something, but we are confident that everything will be fine.”

Ancelotti also had to say something about the comments made by Barcelona manager Hansi Flick and their complaints regarding the scheduling of matches.

“I understand the complaint. He lacked players. As I agree with what he said that Real Madrid are not Barcelona,” said the Real Madrid head coach.

Source: AS