By ADAM TROXTELL
Carlo Ancelotti has come under some criticism as Real Madrid’s boss this season, but he isn’t set on leaving anytime soon.
The Italian says he’ll be at the Bernabeu next season, despite reports that say his current job is under threat. Ancelotti, in his second season as Real manager, also believes Iker Casillas will remain after the goalkeeper also faced criticism.
“Next season, I see myself here along with Iker Casillas and all the players who are doing well at Real Madrid,” Ancelotti told reporters ahead of Saturday’s game against Malaga. “Right now, this question is not so important. We are all focused on the run-in to the end of the season, which is so important.”
Ancelotti’s current contract runs up at the end of next season, and no fresh negotiations for a new deal are believed to have taken place.
Following a surprising loss at home to Schalke in the second leg of a UEFA Champions League round of 16 game, and then a loss to El Clasico rival Barcelona, Ancelotti was under heavy pressure to right the Real Madrid ship.
Since then, Los Blancos have played out a scoreless draw in the Champions League quarterfinal first leg away to Atletico Madrid, in addition to cutting the gap between them and Barcelona at the top of La Liga to just two points. However, elimination from the Copa Del Rey has also angered supporters.
Here are some more news and notes for your Friday afternoon:
PELLEGRINI SAYS YAYA TOURE WILL STAY WITH MAN CITY
Like Ancelotti, the future of Manuel Pellegrini has also been speculated about lately. While he may not be part of the Manchester City operations next season, he believes one of the club’s star midfielders will.
Yaya Toure will remain at Man City, Pellegrini told reporters, despite interest from his former manager and current Inter Milan boss Roberto Mancini. Toure has come under scrutiny from fans and critics for a lack of good form this season, but Pellegrini said he is still an important player for the team.
“Maybe all of you are waiting to criticize him or sacrifice him, but Yaya will continue playing here because he is a very important player for me and the squad and for everyone,” Pellegrini said in a press conference.
Toure, 31, has been linked with a move to Inter in the past couple of months after Mancini admitted his interest in the Ivorian. Both the player’s and Man City’s struggles during the same amount of time added fuel to the fire.
BAYERN DOCTOR SUDDENLY RESIGNS FOLLOWING LOSS TO PORTO
The fall out from Bayern Munich’s surprise 3-1 loss to Porto in a Champions League quarter final first leg took an unexpected turn.
The club’s doctor, Hans-Wilhelm Muller-Wohlfahrt, has announced his resignation along with three of his assistants. They claim they were unfairly blamed for the shocking defeat.
A number of Bayern Munich players, including Arjen Robben, Franck Ribery, David Alaba and Medhi Benatia, missed the game due to injury.
MARIO BALOTELLI MOST RACIALLY TARGETED PLAYER
A new report from anti-racism organization Kick It Out shows Liverpool striker Mario Balotelli suffers the most abuse for his race.
The report shows more than 8,000 discriminatory social media posts have been directed at Balotelli, the most among Premier League players. It also shows 52 percent of those posts are racist in nature.
Danny Welbeck is second on the list with 1,700 discriminatory posts, while Daniel Sturridge had 1,600 posts directed at him. Of all discriminatory posts, 28 percent were about race, 25 percent covered gender and 19 percent covered sexual orientation, according to the report.
Among clubs, Chelsea faced the most abuse with about 20,000 posts directed toward the organization. Manager Jose Mourinho said he thinks it is because Chelsea is “boring,” since they have led the race for the Premier League title since the beginning of the season.
Impressive injury list for Bayern. Must be Klinsmann’s fault.