Ancelotti returns to Valdebebas and meets Mourinho and the players

Carlo Ancelotti has returned to Valdebebas. The former Real Madrid coach visited the training complex during the first team’s session, spoke with José Mourinho and reunited with several players he managed only recently.

The visit was private and was not connected to any position at the club or a potential change to Mourinho’s coaching staff. Real Madrid nevertheless published photographs from the meeting, showing that the most successful coach in the club’s history still shares a close relationship with the people he left behind.

TWO GREAT COACHES MEET AGAIN

Ancelotti appeared on the training pitch during Mourinho’s session. The two coaches greeted each other and spent some time in conversation.

They now occupy different roles, but they share a detailed understanding of the demands attached to the Real Madrid job. Mourinho is leading the team following his return to the Santiago Bernabéu, while Ancelotti is in charge of the Brazil national team.

Their Madrid stories have crossed before. Ancelotti replaced Mourinho in 2013 and won La Décima during his first season. Before the Portuguese coach returned to the club this year, the Italian publicly backed his friend to succeed in a second spell.

Their meeting at Valdebebas did not resemble an awkward handover between a former coach and the current manager. It was a warm conversation between two men who know exactly what it means to work at a club where winning is expected every three days.

A REUNION WITH HIS FORMER PLAYERS

Ancelotti also caught up with members of the squad. He spoke with Thibaut Courtois, Jude Bellingham, Federico Valverde and Dean Huijsen, among others. The Italian also posed for photographs with recent arrivals he did not manage, including Marc Cucurella and Denzel Dumfries.

His reunion with Real Madrid’s Brazilian players was particularly warm. Ancelotti spent time with Éder Militão, Rodrygo and Endrick. All three have been dealing with physical problems, making their condition relevant to him both personally and in his role as Brazil coach.

There were embraces, brief conversations and plenty of photographs. Some players were welcoming back their former manager. Others were meeting the man who built one of the most successful teams in Real Madrid’s history for the first time.

REAL MADRID’S MOST SUCCESSFUL COACH

Ancelotti managed Real Madrid across two spells, from 2013 to 2015 and again from 2021 to 2025. He won 15 trophies, more than any other coach in the club’s history.

His record includes three Champions League titles, three Club World Cups, three UEFA Super Cups, two La Liga titles, two Copa del Rey trophies and two Spanish Super Cups.

Those numbers alone do not fully explain the warmth of his reception. Ancelotti established close relationships with his players while maintaining control of a dressing room filled with major personalities. He rarely needed to make authority the centre of attention.

Several members of the squad have spoken about trusting him as both a coach and a person. The scenes at Valdebebas suggested that leaving the club did little to weaken those relationships.

VALDEBEBAS STILL FEELS FAMILIAR

The visit produced no sporting decisions and should not be presented as anything more than a reunion between former colleagues. It was still more meaningful than an ordinary visit from a former employee.

Ancelotti spent six seasons in charge of Real Madrid, lifted 15 trophies and led the team through some of the most memorable nights the Santiago Bernabéu has witnessed. Valdebebas was his daily workplace for years. He returned as a guest, but the reception made it clear that he remains part of madridismo.

Mourinho is now building his own Real Madrid team and doing so according to his methods. On Thursday, however, he welcomed a coach who left behind more than an extraordinary list of trophies. Ancelotti also left a dressing room that remembers what winning together feels like.

He no longer needs an official position at Real Madrid to feel at home in Valdebebas.