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Published : 22 Apr 2025, 08:53 PM
Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti dismissed suggestions on Tuesday he is under mounting pressure at the club as they sit second in the LaLiga standings and were knocked out of the Champions League last week.
Ancelotti's future has been questioned following their Champions League quarter-final loss to Arsenal, with multiple reports suggesting he could leave Real at the end of the season to take over the Brazil national team.
Bayer Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso and former Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp are among the names that have been linked with the top job at Real in recent weeks.
Asked if he was feeling the pressure, the Italian manager told reporters: "The club is aware that it has been a more complicated year than last year.
"Together we manage the difficulties. The honeymoon continues. I'm very happy, very happy, with a lot of pressure, but that's how it always is.
"You see success very close and it's normal for stress to increase, but stress is fuel for me, it doesn't bother me, it gives me more energy to think about more things. As long as I continue to get up in the morning, everything is fine."
Real are still chasing success on multiple fronts and sit second in the league standings with 69 points from 32 matches, four behind rivals Barcelona.
They face Barca in the Copa del Rey final this weekend, but before that will travel to 12th-placed Getafe for a league meeting on Wednesday, where they will be without Kylian Mbappe and Ferland Mendy.
Forward Mbappe suffered an ankle injury in Real's 2-1 quarter-final second leg loss to Arsenal last week, while defender Mendy is recovering from a hamstring injury.
"(Mbappe and Mendy) are not ready for tomorrow, but they will train these days and I think they will both be available for Saturday's game," Ancelotti said.
"Tomorrow's eleven will be decided taking into account the wear and tear of Sunday night (1-0 win over Athletic Bilbao) and that alone. Some are still a bit tired, but that's quite normal. We'll see tomorrow.
"Getafe play intense football, very well organised and they are very clear. We are ready and prepared, every time the end of the season approaches, the games become more and more important."
