Perez finally gets Ancelotti

When Carlo Ancelotti signs a three-year contract to become Real Madrid’s new coach this afternoon, president Florentino Perez will have finally landed his man.

A statement published on Real’s official website yesterday confirmed the 54-year-old Italian as Perez’s choice to succeed returning Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho and the appointment will be formalised in the Santiago Bernabeu’s royal box today before he meets the Spanish press for the first time.

Ancelotti’s arrival draws a line under the debate concerning his exit from Paris St Germain, where he will be succeeded by Laurent Blanc, and it supplies Perez with the coach he hopes could deliver a first Champions League trophy to Madrid since 2002.