Chelsea players took Ancelotti out after sacking, now Madrid stars fight for him

The legendary Italian manager is currently in football purgatory, with his contract set to expire in the summer amid rumours he will be given a two-year extension by Los Blancos president Florentino Perez.

Last summer, president of the Brazilian Football Federation, Ednaldo Rodrigues, stated that Ancelotti was a certainty to join the national team in 2024, but that now looks very doubtful.

Following a 3-0 win over Cadiz that put Madrid top of LaLiga at the weekend, the four-time Champions League winner said he would 'wait until the very last day' to re-sign for the club.

And he may well have to do exactly that, with conflicting reports claiming Perez is more inclined to wait until March before deciding on his coach for 2024/25, with Bayer Leverkusen's Xabi Alonso causing much intrigue.

Ancelotti's performances until then will also be the main thing to consider for Madrid, and their players would be wise to give everything for the 64-year-old until that date.

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That's according to Chelsea legend John Terry, who recalled that when Ancelotti lost his job at Stamford Bridge in 2011, the players were so gutted they took him out for a night on the tiles.

Speaking to Ellie Collins, Terry explained: "Carlo was excellent. We all loved Carlo, he was a great man manager and a great coach and we did the double and had a lot of success under him.

"It was quite sad but quite good that when he got sacked after the Everton game, we loved him and went to the front of the bus.

"It was down to us and we weren't playing well at the time so we felt the responsibility for it, so we went to the front of the bus and said 'Come on, we're going to take you out in London'.

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"Yeah [it was my idea] but also the group, and it just showed that everyone loved him so much, because we got back to Cobham, everyone went back to their houses and got changed.

"Carlo and Paul Clement turned up and we had a really good night where everyone was drinking and let their hair down.

"It was a really special night with a manager where we'd never done it before with any other managers, it was just the relationship we had with Carlo and the respect we had.

"We just wanted to celebrate what he'd done for us, but we were really sad to see him go because he had so much more to give."

One of Terry's equivalents in Madrid, long serving trophy-laden defender Dani Carvajal, is certainly of the same mindset about the Italian, as he explained to the media before taking on Napoli in the Champions League.

"For me, he would be at the club as many years as he wanted," the right back said when asked about Ancelotti's contract situation.

"There are only a few coaches who can do the job like him. I would renew his contract tomorrow. If this club does not, nothing is gained, but he knows that if we don't win, the coach's head is the first to roll."

The feeling is similar among the younger players too, with Rodrygo praising his coach despite admitting he doesn't like the fact he's utilised as a no.9.

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The forward went and hugged the former Milan, Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich coach during his celebration after a goal against Braga in November and later said: "We don't know anything about what is going to happen.

"But we always want to have the coach, whether he's here or in the national team."