Age, Biography, and Wiki
Carlo Ancelotti was born on June 10, 1959, and is one of the most decorated football managers of all time. He rose to fame initially as a player before transitioning into management, where he has achieved unparalleled success. His managerial career includes stints with AC Milan, Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain, and Real Madrid, among others. You can find more detailed information about his life and career on his Wikipedia page.
| Occupation | Footballer |
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| Date of Birth | 10 June 1959 |
| Age | 66 Years |
| Birth Place | Reggiolo, Italy |
| Horoscope | Gemini |
| Country | Italy |
Height, Weight & Measurements
Carlo Ancelotti stands at approximately 1.79 meters tall, though specific details about his weight and measurements are not widely documented.
| Height | 1.79 m |
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Dating & Relationship Status
Ancelotti has been married to Mariann Barrena McClay since 2014. Before that, he was married to Lucrezia Barba from 1983 to 2008. He has two children, Katia and Giorgio, from his previous marriage.
In the Champions League, Ancelotti returned to the San Siro for the first time since his departure from Milan, when his team faced Inter Milan, who was at the time coached by ex-Chelsea manager José Mourinho, at the Round of 16 stage. Ancelotti and Mourinho had a tense relationship from the previous season, as managers of Milan and Inter respectively. Chelsea was eliminated from the Champions League on 16 March 2010 after a 1–3 aggregate loss to Inter, having lost 1–2 away and 0–1 at Stamford Bridge.
In addition to Ancelotti's tactical prowess and adaptability, he has also drawn praise for his kindness, good humour, and his calm, balanced approach as a manager, as well as his ability to motivate his players and cultivate a good relationship with them, and foster a united, winning team environment, although he has also been known to lose his temper at times. During Ancelotti's first season with Bayern Munich, Spanish midfielder Thiago praised Ancelotti for the freedom he gave the players to express themselves and for the confidence with which he instilled them; Ancelotti commented on the tactical changes he implemented at Bayern Munich, stating "[t]he main change is we press a bit more intermittently and we try to play more directly, more vertically," also adding that "if you're organised even an ordinary player can do very well because he'll have options and he'll know where they are and how to find them. But when you get to the final third, everything changes. That's where you need creativity and freedom because without it you only have sterile possession. Especially if your opponent's defence is organised and has been paying attention".
During Ancelotti's second spell at Real Madrid, although he implemented a more simple but effective counter–attacking style with the team, Ancelotti once again earned praise in the media for his balanced approach, adaptability, and man–management abilities during the club's run to a Liga–Champions League double; his ability to develop a strong relationship with his players and his willingness to consult them on tactical decisions were singled out by several pundits in particular as reasons for the team's success and unity. Regarding this aspect of his coaching philosophy, he commented in 2022: "I think that the methodology of training in football has changed a lot in the last 20 years. So I've had to be ready to change my style and my idea of football, because the rules have changed. It's a completely different sport. But what hasn't changed is my relationship with the players. That's the same." In contrast to his first spell in the Spanish capital, Benzema was now given a free attacking role, becoming the focal point of the team's offensive line; this new role enabled the striker to be extremely prolific, which was a key component to the team's success.
Ancelotti has two children: a daughter, and a son, Davide, who was his assistant coach at Everton and Real Madrid. Davide previously also played in the Milan youth team and joined Borgomanero in June 2008. In 2008, Ancelotti confirmed in an interview that he had broken up with his wife of 25 years, Luisa Gibellini. He subsequently dated Romanian Marina Crețu. In 2011, it was announced he was dating Canadian businesswoman Mariann Barrena McClay. Ancelotti and Barrena McClay married in Vancouver in July 2014.
In May 2009, Ancelotti's autobiography, Preferisco la Coppa ("I Prefer the Cup", with a word-play by Ancelotti on the Italian word "coppa" that stands both for "cup" and a type of cured cold pork meat cut, which is produced in Ancelotti's native region of Emilia-Romagna), was published, with all proceeds from sales of the book going to the Fondazione Stefano Borgonovo for the funding of research on amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. In his last season with Chelsea, Ancelotti traveled back to Italy on a regular basis to visit his 87-year-old father who was in poor health with diabetes and other issues. On the issue, he said: "I don't have a problem managing the team for this reason. It's difficult, emotionally, when it's your father... but this is life. I have to do my best to stay close to him, but this is the life." His father died on 29 September 2010, aged 87.
On 31 January 2019, Ancelotti became the grandfather of twins, born to his son Davide's wife Ana Galocha. He is a Roman Catholic. In February 2021, Ancelotti's home in Crosby was burgled and a safe stolen by two male offenders wearing black clothing and balaclavas. The safe was later found dumped in a car park in nearby Thornton. It had been forced open and stripped of its contents. Ancelotti is among the 13 sports personalities mentioned in the Pandora Papers published by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). On 11 October 2023, he received an honorary doctorate from the University of Parma, following his research in "Sciences and Techniques of Preventive and Adapted Motor Activities".
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Net Worth and Salary
As of 2025, Carlo Ancelotti's net worth is estimated to be between $50 million and $60 million . His annual salary at Real Madrid is reported to be €11 million gross . His wealth comes from managing top-tier clubs, endorsements, and investments. He earns around $1-2 million annually from endorsements with brands like Adidas and EA Sports .
On 2 April 2025, Ancelotti stood trial for alleged tax evasion where he testified in a Spanish court on Wednesday, insisting he believed his tax affairs were in order amid allegations that he failed to pay €1 million ($1.08 million) in taxes on image rights revenue.
Career, Business, and Investments
Ancelotti's managerial career has been marked by incredible success, including several Champions League titles and domestic league wins in Italy, England, France, Germany, and Spain. He has been at the helm of Real Madrid since 2021, guiding the team to both La Liga and Champions League titles. His personal ventures include real estate investments and royalties from his bestselling book, "Quiet Leadership" .
As a player, Ancelotti won two European Cups with AC Milan in 1989 and 1990, making him one of seven people to have won the European Cup/Champions League as both a player and a manager. He played as a midfielder and began his career with Italian club Parma, helping the club get promoted to Serie B in the 1978–79 season. He moved to Roma the following season, where he won a Serie A title and four Coppa Italia titles. He then played for the late 1980s Milan team and won many titles, including two Scudetti and two European Cups. At international level, he had 26 appearances and one goal for the Italy national team. He represented Italy at two FIFA World Cups and at the UEFA Euro 1988, finishing in third place at the 1990 World Cup and being a semi-finalist at the Euro tournament.
Ancelotti began his career in 1974 with Parma. He made his professional debut in Serie C during the 1976–77 season, at the age of 18. Under manager Cesare Maldini, he was often deployed as an attacking midfielder or as a second striker, due to his eye for goal. Ancelotti excelled in these roles and helped Parma to a second place in the Serie C1 girone A during the 1978–79 season, which qualified the team for the Serie B play-offs. In the decisive match in Vicenza, against Triestina, with the score tied at 1–1, he scored two goals, which gave Parma a 3–1 victory and sealed their place in Serie B the following season.
The following season, Ancelotti suffered an injury to his left knee in the quarter-finals of the European Cup against KV Mechelen, which forced him to miss the semi-finals, although he was able to return in time to help Milan defend their title against Benfica in the final, held in Vienna. Following Sacchi's departure, he won a second Serie A title under his replacement Fabio Capello during the 1991–92 Serie A season, as Milan won the title undefeated, but persistent knee injuries and competition from youngster Demetrio Albertini limited his playing time, and eventually forced him into premature retirement at the end of the season, at the age of 33. He played the final match of his career with the club in a 4–0 home win over Hellas Verona on 17 May 1992, in which he came off the bench in the final 20 minutes of the game and scored two goals, and was given an ovation by the fans.
Ancelotti undertook his coaching studies at Coverciano, where he penned a research article entitled "Il Futuro del Calcio: Più Dinamicità" (English: "The Future of Football: More Dynamism"). After serving as an assistant manager with the Italy national team under his former Milan coach Arrigo Sacchi between 1992 and 1995, and reaching the 1994 World Cup final, Ancelotti began his managerial career with Serie B side Reggiana in 1995–96 season, where he immediately aided the team in achieving promotion to Serie A; he left after the 1995–96 Serie B season, finishing with a record of 17 wins, fourteen draws and ten losses in his only season with the club.
Ancelotti joined Parma the following season, a team which had recently enjoyed several years of domestic and European success under the previous manager Nevio Scala, and which contained several promising young players, including future Italy stars Gianluigi Buffon and Fabio Cannavaro. Ancelotti made his debut in the Coppa Italia in a 3–1 loss to Pescara. Ancelotti made several changes at the club, implementing a rigorous Sacchi-inspired 4–4–2 formation, and initially deploying creative forward Gianfranco Zola out of position on the left wing in order to accommodate Hristo Stoichkov up-front, although both players were later eventually sold by the club after lack of playing time, due to struggling to perform in this system. With the new attacking partnership of Enrico Chiesa and Hernán Crespo, Parma finished second in Serie A during the 1996–97 season under Ancelotti, which guaranteed them a place in the next edition of the UEFA Champions League.
Chelsea's next defeat of the season came against Liverpool at Anfield on 7 November 2010, where they lost 0–2 with both goals coming from Fernando Torres. A week later, Chelsea suffered their second Premier League defeat in three matches with a remarkable 0–3 home defeat to Sunderland. In their following five league games, they lost two and drew three games, culminating in a 1–3 loss to Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium. On 5 January 2011, Chelsea suffered a shock 0–1 defeat at struggling Wolverhampton Wanderers, leaving them fifth in the league and in real danger of missing out on a Champions League place for the first time since 2002. This result led to Ancelotti ruling out Chelsea's chances of retaining the title, insisting that he did not fear that he would be dismissed. After this match, however, Chelsea's form began to improve. First with a 7–0 thrashing of Ipswich Town in the FA Cup at Stamford Bridge, and then a 2–0 victory over Blackburn, followed by emphatic away wins against Bolton Wanderers and Sunderland, putting them in fourth position in the league, though still ten points behind leaders Manchester United.
Following their defeat in the Champions League, Chelsea made a remarkable comeback in the league, defeating Wigan 1–0 at home, West Brom 3–1 away, Birmingham City 3–1, West Ham United 3–0 and Tottenham 2–1 at home. Chelsea, who at one point were fifth and 15 points behind leaders Manchester United, vaulted into the second position the league, just three points behind them with three games left of the season. On 8 May, Chelsea lost 1–2 against Manchester United at Old Trafford to stay second in the league, now six points behind the leaders with just two more games to play.
On 20 December 2015, Bayern Munich CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge confirmed that Ancelotti would replace Pep Guardiola as manager for the 2016–17 season, signing a three-year contract. His contract started on 1 July 2016. His first training session was on 11 July 2016, and his first match was a pre–season win against SV Lippstadt. His first match at Allianz Arena was a 1–0 pre–season win over his predecessor Guardiola's Manchester City. Bayern participated in the International Champions Cup. In the first match, Bayern lost to Milan in a shootout. In the second match, Bayern defeated Inter Milan. In the final match, Bayern lost to Real Madrid.
On 1 June 2021, Ancelotti resigned from his position at Everton to rejoin Real Madrid, following Zidane's resignation, signing a contract until 2024. On 19 September 2021, Ancelotti reached the milestone of 800 league matches with clubs from the top five European leagues. On the domestic front, he delivered two trophies out of a possible three, winning La Liga and the Supercopa de España. Thus, Ancelotti won all six available top trophies at Madrid, in addition to becoming the first manager to win all of Europe's top five leagues. Real Madrid's 5–4 aggregate win over defending champions Chelsea in the Champions League quarter-finals saw him become the first manager to reach the Champions League semi-finals in four different decades (the 1990s, 2000s, 2010s, and 2020s). In the Champions League final against Liverpool, Ancelotti's record fifth in the competition, a lone Vinícius goal sealed the 14th European Cup for Los Blancos, and Ancelotti's second in charge. Real also claimed their fourth ever European double. With this win, Ancelotti became the first manager in history to win four Champions League titles. Ancelotti placed second in the 2022 Best FIFA Men's Coach award, behind winner Lionel Scaloni.
Managing to win all three opening matches of Madrid's 2023–24 league campaign, he was named La Liga's Coach of the Month in August. With his team's 2–1 victory over Real Sociedad on 17 September 2023, Ancelotti got his 173rd Madrid win, overtaking Zinedine Zidane to become the coach with the second most wins in the club's history. On 29 December, although he had previously been linked with the position of head coach for the Brazil national football team, Real Madrid announced that Ancelotti had agreed to a contract extension until 30 June 2026.
Toward the beginning of his coaching career, and during his time with Parma, Ancelotti preferred to use a rigorous 4–4–2 formation, which made use of heavy pressing, and drew influence from that of his AC Milan and Italy coach Arrigo Sacchi, and which he believed to be the most successful system for his team; however, this system did not allow for more creative forwards, such as Gianfranco Zola, Hristo Stoichkov and Roberto Baggio, to play in their preferred positions, and ultimately led to Zola and Stoichkov's departure from the club, while Baggio's transfer to Parma in 1997 was impeded by Ancelotti. Ancelotti later stated that he regretted his intransigence, and when he joined Juventus, he abandoned his favoured 4–4–2 in favour of a 3–4–1–2 system, in order to accommodate Zinedine Zidane in his preferred advanced playmaking role behind the forwards. In addition to Sacchi, Ancelotti has also cited his former Roma manager Nils Liedholm, and his youth coach Bruno Mora as major influences. The positive leadership style of his Roma manager Sven-Göran Eriksson also inspired Ancelotti's own coaching style.
In an interview with The Times, in the lead-up to the 2024 Champions League final, Ancelotti commented on the limits of teams having "only one identity," also adding that his "style" was "not recognised" because he changed. He said that against Roberto De Zerbi's Shakhtar Donetsk, en route to his last Champions League title, he instructed his players not to press them, so that they would not play through the team. He similarly demonstrated that his team defended in a low block against Manchester City in the knock-out stages, as he saw that as the most effective way to defeat them, but that normally his side are more offensive. He elaborated that during the current season he used a 4–3–1–2 without a genuine forward, in order to compensate for the departure of striker Benzema. Jude Bellingham served as a goalscoring attacking midfielder, with additional creative and defensive responsibilities, acting almost as a false-9 or second striker at times, and playing behind Vinícius Júnior and Rodrygo – normally wingers – upfront in free roles. Bellingham flourished in this position, with Ancelotti earning praise from Ben Grounds of Sky Sports for fielding him in this new role. While Vinícius and Rodrygo were still given the freedom to move out wide in attack, Ancelotti also focused on developing their ability to play more effectively in central areas. He also used a 4–4–2 formation at times throughout the season. Despite injuries to three of his team's key players – Thibaut Courtois, David Alaba and Éder Militão – Real Madrid won another Liga–Champions League double that season, with Ancelotti noting that "attitude and commitment" were "the key to overcoming all the problems" the club had faced.
Social Network
While Ancelotti is not highly active on social media platforms, his professional updates and achievements are frequently covered by football news outlets and fans.
The following season, the club had agreed to sign another Italian creative forward, Roberto Baggio, but Ancelotti impeded the transfer as he once again did not feel that a player like Baggio would fit into his tactical plans. Ancelotti later stated that he regretted this decision, stating that at the time he believed that the 4–4–2 was the ideal formation for success, and that offensive playmakers were not compatible with this system. After suffering a first round elimination in the 1997–98 Champions League, and a semi–final appearance in the Coppa Italia, Ancelotti was only able to guide Parma to a sixth-place finish in Serie A during the 1997–98 season, and was dismissed at the end of the season, despite qualifying the team for next season's UEFA Cup.
In the 2024–25 season, Ancelotti led Real Madrid through a series of high-profile matches in both domestic and European competitions. In the quarter-finals, Real Madrid faced Arsenal. The first leg at the Emirates Stadium saw Arsenal secure a 3–0 victory, putting Madrid at a significant disadvantage. In the return leg at the Santiago Bernabéu, Arsenal won 2–1, resulting in a 5–1 aggregate defeat for Real Madrid and ending their Champions League campaign.
Moving to Chelsea, in the 2009–10 season Ancelotti continued with the 4–4–2 diamond formation used previously at Milan, often with Michael Essien or Mikel John Obi in the defensive role, Michael Ballack or Frank Lampard as box to box midfielders and Deco in a creative role, with full-backs Ashley Cole and José Bosingwa pushing forward and providing width to the narrow midfield. Later in the season the Africa Cup of Nations left Chelsea without strikers Salomon Kalou or Didier Drogba (as well as midfielders Essien and Mikel) and harder to play with a 4–4–2, so Ancelotti switched to the 4–3–2–1 "Christmas Tree" formation he had also used at Milan, using Joe Cole and Florent Malouda to support lone striker Nicolas Anelka. He also used the 4–2–3–1 and 4–3–3 to be less predictable and better use creative players like Lampard and Malouda.
In an episode of Universo Valdano in 2022, Ancelotti commented on his coaching style in the latter part of his career: "I am not an obsessive person. I like football a lot, it's a passion of mine, but I try to keep things as simple as possible. Football for me isn't complicated." He also said that he preferred to instruct his players on the defensive part of the game – as it requires more organisation – rather than the attacking aspect of the game, so as not to stifle their creativity going forward. He later also commented on his style in 2023 in comparison to other managers: "The mistakes that the new generation of coaches make is that they give too much information to the players about the game in possession. I'm old school and I think this takes a bit of creativity away. It's one thing to tell them the position without the ball, where you have to work hard and play as a team, but in possession, if they're comfortable when they come a bit wider, I'm not going to tell them to go inside. It's an individual interpretation of the game with the ball and I don't want to take away each player's creativity." However, he later dismissed criticism that he was an "old–school" manager, citing his longevity and success as evidence of his adaptability.
Nicknamed Don Carlo by the Spanish media, and Re Carlo in the Italian press ("King Charles" in Italian), Ancelotti is regarded as one of the greatest and most successful managers of all time, and has drawn praise in the press for his longevity as well as his record–breaking achievements. Despite becoming the first manager to win the league title in the top five European football leagues, Ancelotti's domestic record, and his lack of numerous league titles in comparison to his record-breaking success in European club competitions, has occasionally been criticised in the media. In 2015, Miguel Delaney of ESPN concluded that Ancelotti's more relaxed management style is more suited to winning cup competitions that are "far more open to blind luck and all the one-off nuances," in contrast to autocratic managers like Pep Guardiola, Sir Alex Ferguson, and José Mourinho, who have amassed better domestic records and more league championships. Ancelotti himself has also referenced this discrepancy in the title of his autobiography, which translates to "I prefer Cups".
Education
There is limited information available about Ancelotti's formal education. However, his extensive experience in football both as a player and a manager has contributed significantly to his expertise.
