Report: Ancelotti, Real Madrid verbally agree on split after season

Carlo Ancelotti and Real Madrid have reached a verbal agreement over the terms of his exit from the club, according to The Athletic's Mario Cortegana and Adam Crafton.

The Italian coach previously said he would announce his future plans once the team concludes its La Liga campaign against Real Sociedad on May 25. However, an official announcement stating that Ancelotti is leaving the club a year before the expiration of his contract could arrive sooner, perhaps when Sunday's much-anticipated league duel with Barcelona is over, Cortegana and Crafton reported.

That would leave Real Madrid on the lookout for a new head coach before their opening Club World Cup match against Saudi Arabia's Al-Hilal on June 18.

Bayer Leverkusen's Xabi Alonso appears to be a front-runner to succeed Ancelotti and he publicly acknowledged last week that he was awaiting developments from the Spanish capital before he can determine where he'll work next season. He's viewed as a stronger appointment than internal candidates such as Raul Gonzalez - the former forward commonly known as Raul who oversees the reserve side Castilla - and Alvaro Arbeloa, the boss of the under-19 Juvenil A team.

Ancelotti, meanwhile, is widely expected to take over the Brazil men's national team. He met with representatives from the Brazilian Football Confederation in London on April 28 but a move stalled because he was yet to reach a definitive agreement over his Real Madrid future, according to Cortegana and Crafton. However, an agreement for Ancelotti to coach current Real Madrid players Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo, Eder Militao, and Endrick on the international stage is now anticipated before Brazil's World Cup qualifiers against Ecuador (June 5) and Paraguay (June 10).