Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti has backed Xavi Hernandez and Barcelona’s choice to continue together next season, days after Los Blancos widened the gap between the two to 11 points.
“I think he has done a good job at Barcelona, he knows the club well, it seems like a correct decision to me,” Ancelotti told the media ahead of their clash with Real Sociedad on Friday night.
He was then asked whether his word was more important than a contract when it comes to a project.
“What a question! Everything is important, we must respect changes of opinion. There is nothing written, I also change my mind. I have done so many times. It is perfectly respectable, it is allowed.”
He was also quizzed on the statements of Barcelona President Joan Laporta, who noted that he was willing to request a replay of El Clasico, feeling there was insufficient evidence to show why Lamine Yamal’s ghost goal wasn’t given.
“It’s an opinion. I don’t comment on opinions,” Ancelotti said, and neither was he willing to opine himself on the potential legal route Barcelona could take.
“I have nothing to add, they are opinions, the words are carried by the wind.”
In contrast to Barcelona and his opposite number, Ancelotti has shied away from controversy for much of his time at Real Madrid. The Italian is on course for arguably the most successful spell of his career, with a second league title in three years just seven points away, and a second Champions League (this spell) within sight too.
