Marcelo Gallardo, who is recognised as a good friend of Lionel Messi, can reportedly take up the coaching responsibility of Real Madrid following the departure of their existing manager Carlos Ancelotti. Ancelotti is standing on the brink of concluding his contract with Los Blancos and will be free to move on in the upcoming summer transfer window. In this scenario, Gallardo, who is presently free in the market following his successful spell as the River Plate head coach, can be the most viable option for Real Madrid, a report by Argentine outlet Ole stated.
Marcelo Gallardo has spent the majority of his coaching career in South America. He served as the manager of the Uruguayan club Nacional during the 2011-12 season before shifting his base to Argentina. Appointed as the head coach of River Plate in the summer of 2014, Gallardo was ranked the fifth-best coach worldwide in 2015 by IFFHS. He remained with Los Millonarios for more than eight and a half years, managing 424 games before ending the tie in December 2022.
Gallardo was assigned as the manager of Cristiano Ronaldo-led Riyadh All-Star XI in the friendly fixture against Lionel Messi’s Paris Saint Germain earlier in January. Coming out of the Qatar World Cup as the champions, Messi opened the net for the French giants, who eventually won 5-4 in what could be called a neck-to-neck battle. The Argentine captain, after he was taken off the pitch, was spotted exchanging some words of appreciation with Gallardo at the sideline.
Marcelo Gallardo’s last major meeting with Lionel Messi, however, goes a long way. As the River Plate mastermind, he squared off against Messi’s former club Barcelona in the final of the 2015 FIFA Club World Cup. The Argentine captain scored the first for the Spanish powerhouse before Luis Suarez netted a brace to cinch a 3-0 victory.
Looking at Gallardo’s potential move to Madrid, the Argentine manager will need to battle a number of prominent faces including Mauricio Pochettino, Xabi Alonso, Raul Gonzalez, Jose Mourinho as well as recently-sacked Julian Nagelsmann, who are also reportedly in the race.
Carlo Ancelotti, on the other hand, looks to be a good contender as the manager of Brazil, who are searching for a new boss after Tite’s exit following the 2022 World Cup.
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