Ancelotti: “Benzema has another year on his contract, so I don’t think there are any doubts”

Carlo Ancelotti has held his final pre-match press conference of the season, speaking to the media ahead of this weekend’s Real Madrid vs Athletic Club match. He started off by previewing the game as so: “We didn’t want to be fighting for second place at the beginning of the season, but we do have this challenge now. We want to put on a good performance for the fans. Everyone is doing well and everyone is available except Mariano.”

Ancelotti on Benzema’s future

Karim Benzema’s future is the major talking point of the week and Ancelotti was asked if he thinks the striker will stay and if he agrees with the Frenchman’s “reality isn’t internet” comments. Ancelotti replied: “He has another year on his contract, so I don’t think there are any doubts. Club legends should retire at Real Madrid. I think that’s the way all fans and the club think, and it’s the way I think. But, maybe some players want to play for a few more years away from Real Madrid. He’s right when he says reality isn’t internet. Media outlets are very important in our society, but we need to manage certain situations well. I agree with Karim.”

Ancelotti on his future

At the end of last season, Ancelotti said he felt like he was in a “honeymoon period”. He was asked if he still feels that way and said: “The honeymoon continues. I haven’t had any problems with the club. I think we’ve even improved our relationship of late. I’m very happy to continue and I’ll try to do as well as possible next season.”

Ancelotti on the transfer market

There were various questions about the transfer market and the coach responded: “I think you guys are very interested in these kinds of things, but I’m not going to speak about transfers. There are players with contracts and there are players with expiring contracts. So, we’ll have a different squad next season to this season but it will be a competitive squad. I think the players with uncertain futures are waiting until the end of the season.”

Pressed on a few individual names, he replied: “Fran García is coming back, but I can’t speak about Brahim Díaz for now. As for Harry Kane, he is a good player, but he is a Tottenham player so we have to respect Tottenham.”

Ancelotti on 2022/23 grades

Asked what grade he would give himself for this season, the Italian said: “It’s hard to grade your own work. I think it has been a long and difficult season and we’ve worked very hard. I haven’t always been able to show maximum motivation because being motivated every three days is hard. I’d give myself a positive grade, but I’m sure I’ll do better next season.”