Ancelotti to discuss Real Madrid future at 'end of season'

Carlo Ancelotti will discuss his future with Real Madrid at the end of the season, the coach said Saturday, following the Champions League holders' elimination by Arsenal.

After the record 15-time winners lost on Wednesday in the quarter-finals, thrashed 5-1 on aggregate, speculation grew that Madrid would dismiss the Italian coach in the coming weeks.

"At the end of the season we will speak about (my future) with the club," Ancelotti told a news conference, batting away various questions on a similar theme.

Ancelotti's contract is due to end in 2026.

"I have spoken with the players and the club, we all agree, we have to fight for the titles there are on the line," continued the 65-year-old, ahead of Sunday's clash with Athletic Bilbao in La Liga.

Spanish champions Real Madrid trail leaders Barcelona by four points and will also face the Catalans in the Copa del Rey final on April 26.

"Obviously we are all hurt, and the fans, after going out of maybe the most important competition, or at least the one Madrid has had the most success in, in recent years," said Ancelotti.

"We are all in the same boat, in the good and the bad times... the president (Florentino Perez) has always shown me the most affection in these moments than in the moments when we have won."

Ancelotti has been linked with coaching the Brazilian national team after Dorival Junior was sacked following a heavy defeat by Argentina.

"I don't have to say anything at all, as I said already, at the end of the season we will speak about this," said Ancelotti.

The coach said he did not know whether the "end of the season" came before or after the Club World Cup, which Madrid are participating in from June 14 in the United States.