Ancelotti Doesn't Know About The Future At Real Madrid After Being Knocked Out Of The Champions League

Carlo Ancelotti said he did not know whether Real Madrid's defeat to Arsenal 1-2 in the second leg of the Champions League quarter-finals on Thursday, April 17, 2025, early in the morning WIB - which caused the reigning champions to be eliminated in the quarter-finals - was their last match as coach of Los Blancos in the tournament.

The goal of Bukayo Saka in the first half was denied by goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, before he put Arsenal ahead in the 65th minute.

Vinicius Junior equalized two minutes later after William Saliba's mistake. However, Gabriel Martinelli scored in injury time and brought Arsenal forward to the semifinals 5-1 on aggregate.

Ancelotti, who has a contract until 2026, has faced criticism of Real Madrid's performance this season - including two major defeats to Barcelona - even though the team is still competing for the La Liga title and will face the Blaugrana in the Copa del Rey final.

"I don't know," Ancelotti told a news conference after the match, when asked if the defeat in the Bernabeu might be his last Champions League game with Real Madrid.

"It could be that the club decided to change. It could be this year, or next year when my contract expires. No problem."

"When I finish here, the only thing I can do is thank this club, maybe tomorrow, another month, or another year," he said.

Ancelotti said he had not thought of the possibility of resigning this summer if he felt he had brought the team as far as he could.

The Italian coach admitted that Madrid - who lost 0-3 in the first leg at the Emirates in the middle of last week - deserved to be eliminated.

Even so, he should have said the penalty in the first half - which was awarded to Real Madrid for Declan Rice's foul on Kylian Mbappe which was later canceled after a VAR check - could change the result.

"Arsenal is better than us. It's important to have a moment, which may be in the form of a penalty they took from us."

"It may have changed the dynamics of the game. In terms of attitude, today's team gave everything."

"However, we are not always able to do it. Compared to last year, we lacked a collective attitude," said Ancelotti.

Meanwhile, Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtouis said the players had no problem with Ancelotti and insisted there was no doubt about the manager.

"Sometimes you have to criticize yourself. We are a team, but sometimes maybe we have to play more as a team and less as individuals."

"If they look after Vini or Kylian twice, that means two against one. That might work once, but not three, four or five times," Courtois told Movistar.

Furthermore, the Belgian goalkeeper also agreed with the Gunners' better performance than Real Madrid.

He particularly praised Arsenal's defense, but argues Real Madrid are short of a natural center-forward like Joselu, who scored twice in the team's dramatic win in the semifinals over Bayern Munich last season before leaving last summer.

"It's hard to find space. We did a lot of crosss, but this year we don't have Joselu to win the duel, to become a natural center-forward on the front lines."

"We have to find out what we can do better. There are still many seasons left," Courtois said.

Despite that result, Real Madrid will host Athletic Bilbao in La Liga on Sunday, April 20, 2025, and then Getafe in the middle of the week, before fighting Barcelona in the Copa del Rey final on April 26, 2025.