He took over the Brazilians six months ago, managed several matches in the already-won World Cup qualifiers, and his contract has already been extended.
That's Carlo Ancelotti.
The Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) and the Italian coach have reached an agreement to extend his contract until the 2030 World Cup. The Italian expert arrives in Rio de Janeiro this Friday, after a vacation and New Year's holidays spent abroad, and the new contract is expected to be signed during the first weeks of February, writes "O Globo". This would give Ancelotti another full cycle on the national team bench and will lead the "cariocas" to two World Cups.
Negotiations on the continuation of the cooperation began in October, and were significantly accelerated at the end of the year, with Ancelotti's agreement to the conditions proposed by the CBF. As the agreement has already been reached, the formalization of the contract now depends solely on the administrative and legal details, which are currently under consideration by the legal department of the Federation, writes the famous Brazilian newspaper.
Ancelotti already has the highest salary among coaches in the world - around 10 million euros per year - and the contract extension will be concluded under similar conditions, with possible adjustments to bonuses for trophies won. The existing contract also provides for an additional bonus of five million euros if Brazil wins a sixth world title at the 2026 World Cup.
Satisfied with his work style, which allows him to divide his time between his family in Canada and his stay in Rio de Janeiro, the 66-year-old coach has made no secret of his desire to remain on the Brazil bench. The CBF describes the negotiations as "natural and unanimous", assessing that Ancelotti has put the national team back on track and raised expectations ahead of the 2026 World Cup with a competitive team.
It is particularly important for the CBF leadership that the decision to extend the contract is not tied solely to the result at the next World Cup. With the extension of Ancelotti's mandate, the Federation is also planning the continuity of the entire national team sector in another World Cup cycle.
The 2030 World Cup will be held in Portugal, Spain and Morocco, with matches in Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay, as part of the centenary celebrations of the competition. In November last year, before a friendly against Tunisia in Lille, Ancelotti joked about the contract extension:
"The truth is that the contract is cheaper before the World Cup, but it can be much more expensive afterwards."
Ancelotti has been in charge of Brazil since the end of May this year. So far, the "Selesa" has played eight matches, with four wins, two draws and two losses, with 14 goals scored and five conceded. In March, Brazil plays its last friendlies before announcing its World Cup roster - against France on March 26 in Boston and Croatia on March 31 in Orlando.
Brazil is in Group C of the World Cup and opens the tournament on June 11 against Morocco in New Jersey. This is followed by matches against Haiti on June 19 in Philadelphia and Scotland on June 24 in Miami, which concludes the group stage.
Brazil has been waiting for the World Cup title since 2002. Since then, the most decorated team has regularly been eliminated by European teams in the quarterfinals, and once in the semifinals - in 2006 by France, in 2010 by the Netherlands, in 2014 by Germany (semifinals - 1:7), in 2018 by Belgium and in 2022 by Croatia.
The "Cariocas" are not among the biggest favorites at the upcoming World Cup either, that role again belongs to the Europeans - Spain, France and England, above all, but the Brazilians must always be counted on.
Especially since they won the previous World Cup, which was played in America, in 1994.
Even more so because they are now led by the most trophy-winning coach, Carlo Ancelotti.
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