Real Madrid to Raul: “We have a plan for you”

Real Madrid’s plans for next season have already begun, and most reports indicate that Carlo Ancelotti will continue for a third season as the head coach of Real Madrid.

Questions have arisen regarding Raúl González Blanco’s future given he has led Real Madrid U19s to their first ever UEFA Youth League title a couple seasons ago and has brought his Castilla side to the verge of automatic promotion. According to Javier Herráez on Cadena Ser’s radio program, El Larguero, and further corroborated by Anton Meana of Cadena Ser, the most likely coach to take over the managerial position at Real Madrid, although not for the start of next season, is Raúl.

Antón Meana has said that Real Madrid is already preparing for the upcoming season regardless of the coach: “Transfers and renewals are not tied to the continuity of the coach or the hiring of another coach. Carlo Ancelotti is not being questioned at the Bernabéu or in the locker room, but based on the information we have, he is being questioned within the club.” This is why the option of Raúl González Blanco, who has been leading Castilla for three seasons, always comes up as a potential option.

The club have never stood in the way of Raul if he preferred to take a step into top-level management with the many offers he has received abroad, (namely: Leeds, Eintracht Frankfurt, Schalke, and others): “Whenever Raúl has informed Madrid about offers he has received from the Premier League or the Bundesliga, the club has always been generous, making it clear that they would not hinder his progress abroad and would not demand a release clause. However, they emphasized that they have a plan for him, as confirmed by several well-informed sources to Antón Meana, they have reiterated: ‘We have a plan for you.’”

The Castilla coach has been an emergency alternative in case Ancelotti was dismissed mid-season or left unexpectedly. However, with expectation of Ancelotti staying for another year, it now provides an opportunity for Raúl to potentially take on a new challenge abroad: “At Madrid, they believe he is already a top-level football coach,” according to Meana. Whether in the near-term future, or in a longer time horizon, Raul will more than likely be the coach of the Real Madrid first team.