Real Madrid Legends Slam Ancelotti: ‘The Team Has Slipped Out Of His Hands’

Two Real Madrid legends, in Predrag Mijatovic and Jorge Valdano, separately criticized manager Carlo Ancelotti in the aftermath of Tuesday's 3-1 Champions League defeat to AC Milan.

Attacked by Fede Valverde's partner online, Ancelotti admitted that he is "worried" about his team after it fell to a second consecutive defeat at the Bernabeu following on from a 0-4 thrashing against FC Barcelona in El Clasico almost a fortnight ago.

Whistles could be heard around the iconic ground at various stages of the evening, which saw Madrid beaten by Ancelotti's former employers and most associated club in Italy with whom he won two of his five UCL crowns as a manager.

And elsewhere in the Los Blancos universe, the elite competition's most successful tactician has been criticized in the Spanish media.

The scorer of the winning goal for Madrid in the 1998 final vs Juventus, Mijatovic frequently appears on radio station SER and said that while he feels "pity" for Real Madrid and its current predicament, he feels that "the team has gotten out of Ancelotti's hands".

The success it has enjoyed in recent years, which includes a treble last term and two UCL crowns in 2022 and 2024 could be the reason for this, Mijatovic suggested.

"After two or three splendid years, with everything they have won, the team relaxes a little. It's clear," he said.

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"What solutions can be sought? At the moment few, really. I don't know if Ancelotti has the ability to react. I don't know if he has the ability to reset the whole situation and motivate these players."

Furthermore, the Montenegrin thinks that there "are many players who aren't happy" in the Bernabeu locker room.

"They play less than they thought," Mijatovic said, meaning in his view Ancelotti can't order them around and demand "you have to do what I say".

"He's listening to too many opinions. He doesn't have a position like he had in recent years," Mijatovic concluded on the coach.

Valdano, who is one of Spain's most-respected pundits, said that Ancelotti has responsibility for Madrid's misgivings as coach.

"Whenever there is no order, the coach has part of the responsibility," Valdano stated, adding that the blame also has to be shouldered by whoever is responsible for designing a squad where "there is not much balance".

"There are individual responsibilities. There are great players who have not yet found their best moment," the Argentine also remarked.

Like many, Valdano is convinced that a lot of Madrid's shortcomings are down to a lack of control lost in midfield when Toni Kroos retired.

"The departure of Toni Kroos was underestimated, and it is in midfield where Real Madrid do not find the balance," Valdano said.

"Kroos' presence was healing. He gave the team patience when they needed it and mental quickness when it was necessary to accelerate

"There are many things that Real Madrid have lost without Kroos and they are not able to compensate for it even with some of the best players in the world," Valdano concluded.