Real Madrid names Ancelotti as manager, PSG appoints Blanc as his successor

Tuesday saw Real Madrid and Paris SaintGermain name their new coaches almost simultaneously putting to rest all the speculation While Real successfully lured Carlo Ancelotti despite the Italian still having a year to go on his contract at French champions PSG PSG filled the void left by Ancelotti by settling on former France coach and player Laurent Blanc Carlo Ancelotti has been appointed as the new coach of Real Madrid on a threeyear deal the club confirmed on Tuesday quotCarlo Ancelotti will be the coach of Real Madrid next seasonquot said a statement on the club39s website Ancelotti will be formally presented to the media on Wednesday afternoon Carlo Ancelotti PicAFP The 54yearold39s protracted move from Paris SaintGermain was finally confirmed after the French champions also appointed Laurent Blanc to be their coach for next season on Tuesday That cleared the path for Madrid to end a fiveweek wait to announce their new boss after it was announced Jose Mourinho would not be continuing at the club on May 20 However the former Juventus AC Milan and Chelsea boss has always been Real president Florentino Perez first choice to replace Mourinho and arrives with an impressive CV quotHe has won practically everything in the ambit of international football two Champions Leagues two European Supercups One World Club Cup and One Intertoto Cup and has won the league in three different championships in which he has managed Italy England and Francequot the club statement added quotFamiliar with the pressure of managing big teams on the continent the Italian is a guarantee to manage an exciting projectquot It is that experience that Madrid have bet on after a tumultuous final year under Mourinho in which Real failed to win a major trophy and the Portuguese clashed with many of his senior players And his appointment has been backed by defender Sergio Ramos one of those who had a public clash with Mourinho last season quotYou can only say good things about his CV and what he39s shown at a global levelquot he said on Tuesday at a press conference ahead of Spain39s Confederations Cup semifinal with Italy It is Ancelotti39s proven track record in the Champions League in particular that attracted Perez as winning a 10th European Cup remains Madrid39s primary objective After falling short at the semifinal stage under Mourinho for the past three seasons Perez has now entrusted Ancelotti to take what is currently the most expensive squad ever assembled in the history of the game the extra two stages required to land Madrid39s first Champions League trophy since 2002 The Italian39s arrival is also likely to signal the beginning of major moves in the transfer market from the Spanish giants who have so far just exercised their right to buyback Spanish under21 international Dani Carvajal from Bayer Leverkusen and converted 21yearold Brazilian Casemiro39s loan deal from Sao Paulo into a permanent move in recent weeks The purchase of Malaga midfielder Isco for a price in the region of 30 million euros 39 million pound255 million is also expected to be completed this week as Real look set to beat off strong competition from Manchester City for the highly rated Spanish international Real have also been strongly linked with a move for Tottenham Hotspur39s Gareth Bale and Liverpool39s Luis Suarez however one of Ancelotti39s first jobs may be to sanction a few transfers out of the club to create the funds for future moves Striker Gonzalo Higuain has spoken of his desire to leave the club and his father admitted on Sunday that the player was close to reaching an agreement with both Arsenal and Juventus French champions Paris SaintGermain on Tuesday confirmed the appointment of Laurent Blanc as coach with the former national team manager signing a twoyear contract The television channel BeInSport also owned by the club39s Qatari owners let the cat out of the bag last Friday announcing an quotagreementquot between the Paris side and Blanc quotParis SaintGermain is delighted to announce the appointment of Laurent Blanc as coach for the next two years He will take charge of the squad on 1 July 2013 for the start of preseason trainingquot the club said on psgfr quotThe Board of Paris SaintGermain has given Laurent Blanc the mission to build on last season and to continue the club39s ascendency towards the summits of the European gamequot it added A news conference would be held quotsoonquot the club stated Laurent Blanc PicAFP The French Ligue 1 winners39 announcement came just moments before Real Madrid said that Carlo Ancelotti would take over from Jose Mourinho at the Bernabeu Blanc 47 has been out of a job since leaving his role in charge of the French national team following their disappointing quarterfinal exit at Euro 2012 The former defender who won the World Cup with France in 1998 has previously had professional coaching experience at Bordeaux from 20072010 leading them to the Ligue 1 title in 2009 PSG begin their their title defence against the 201112 champions Montpellier and are likely to be challenged by newly promoted Monaco who have spent heavily since winning Ligue 2 and perennial rivals Marseille The capital club last year made it to the quarterfinals of the Champions League but were beaten on aggregate by the Spanish champions Barcelona Their progression and first domestic title in 19 years was seen as a sign of a return on their investment But a question mark remains over star player Zlatan Ibrahimovic who said in May that he may not stay at PSG if Ancelotti left The Sweden international has two years to run on his contract u00a0