Real Madrid want Unai Emery as shock replacement for Carlo Ancelotti: report

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Real Madrid are impressed by Unai Emery, with the Aston Villa head coach high on the priority list to replace Carlo Ancelotti this summer

Real Madrid target and Aston Villa manager Unai Emery looks on from the dugout during the Champions League last 16 first leg match against Club Brugge at Jan Breydel Stadium in Bruges, Belgium on 4 March, 2025
Unai Emery has fans at the Bernabeu (Image credit: Alamy)

Aston Villa manager Unai Emery is the favourite from Real Madrid to replace Carlo Ancelotti in the dugout.

The Basque boss watched his side crash out of the Champions League quarter-finals last night at Villa Park – but not without a fight, as Aston Villa fought back against Paris Saint-Germain to come within a goal of taking the tie to extra-time.

The Midlands side have ended their first season back in Europe's premier competition unbeaten at home, with Emery widely praised for his work with this team and hopes high that they can qualify once again by finishing in the top five of the Premier League this term.

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Real Madrid circling for Unai Emery of Aston Villa

Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti gestures during a press conference in Madrid, Spain on 28 March, 2025.

Carlo Ancelotti is under major pressure (Image credit: Alamy)

Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti, however, has come under fire following the European champions' 3-0 defeat to Arsenal in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals – and though Xabi Alonso has been the favourite to assume the reins at his former club, Bayer Leverkusen CEO Fernando Carro has told Sky Germany that there is a “high probability” that Die Werkself retain both Alonso and talismanic no.10, Florian Wirtz.

With Leverkusen likely to surrender their crown in the league to Bayern Munich and the Bavarians having knocked the Bundesliga champions out of Europe to boot – with Alonso making questionable tactical errors across three games against his closest rivals – the 43-year-old's star has fallen a little, with Carro quoted as saying he's “assuming” the World Cup winner stays in Germany another season.

Xabi Alonso is the bookmakers favourite to take over at the Bernabeu this summer

Xabi Alonso looks set to remain in Germany (Image credit: Getty Images)

Other names are now being linked with the job in Madrid, with Spanish football expert Graham Hunter telling FourFourTwo exclusively recently that he expects Ancelotti to depart this summer after a second spell in the hot seat.

“Ancelotti has been cursed by the fixture list,” Hunter said, adding, “[Real's] best players having their athletic and creative juices squeezed out of them – and with huge sadness, we might be saying goodbye to Carlo Ancelotti.”

Fichajes in Spain reports that Emery is an option, thanks to “a track record that includes continental titles and a consistency in the elite that few coaches can match” – having won four Europa League winners' medals.

FourFourTwo understands, however, that while Emery has fans at bigger clubs, he may prefer to stay with an underdog.

Arsenal's Spanish head coach Unai Emery (R) gestures to Arsenal's German midfielder Mesut Ozil as he is substituted during the English Premier League football match between Chelsea and Arsenal at Stamford Bridge in London on August 18, 2018.

Emery has managed big egos in the past (Image credit: GLYN KIRK/AFP via Getty Images)

The Basque has managed big clubs with big egos before, in the shape of Arsenal and PSG to mixed results, while links to Newcastle United never surfaced.

While Real Madrid is a big opportunity to turn down, Emery is fully committed to Villa and it would be a massive shock to see him leave – especially if they qualify for the Champions League once more.

Villa host Newcastle this weekend as Premier League action continues.

Mark White
Mark White
Content Editor

Mark White has been at on FourFourTwo since joining in January 2020, first as a staff writer before becoming content editor in 2023. An encyclopedia of football shirts and boots knowledge – both past and present – Mark has also represented FFT at both FA Cup and League Cup finals (though didn't receive a winners' medal on either occasion) and has written pieces for the mag ranging on subjects from Bobby Robson's season at Barcelona to Robinho's career. He has written cover features for the mag on Mikel Arteta and Martin Odegaard, and is assisted by his cat, Rosie, who has interned for the brand since lockdown.