Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti has joked that he would “walk to Saudi Arabia on foot” for £450 million a year, which has been offered to golfer Jon Rahm.
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The Basque golfer will be reportedly earning £450 million ($566 million) in the next four years after he pledged his allegiance to the LIV organization, moving away from the PGA Tour and TGL League that have been created by Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods. Ancelotti was asked by a reporter if he would have accepted a similar offer, and the Italian could not stop himself from giving a hilarious reply.
While responding to the question, Ancelotti said, “On foot. On foot. I’m walking; I don’t need to take a flight.”
But he soon added, “It’s a joke. The world is changing. And it will change. It’s no surprise to anyone. Jon Rahm is very good. I’m not a golf expert, but Jon Rahm seems to me to be the best of all.”
On being asked if he has been contacted by anyone in Saudi Arabia, he said, “No, they have not called me, and I live in the present. The present is very good.”
Ancelotti’s contract is set to expire in the summer of 2024, and he has been intensely linked to taking up the reins of the Brazilian national team.
When asked if he would consider shifting his base to the Middle East if an opportunity came by, he replied, “I have another idea that is not that right now. I have never looked at money because I grew up in a family in which money was not important. And the truth is that I have money. For me, the important thing is to feel good. It could be that one day I will feel good in Saudi Arabia, but for now, I feel good here.”
Ancelotti indeed has money, and the Italian is not afraid to splash it! Former AC Milan player Alexandre Pato revealed that the manager used to fly to training in a helicopter that was flown by his wife.
In an interview with the Players Tribune, Pato revealed: “Ancelotti became like a father to me. He even named his dog Pato. You saw that picture of him on the bus parade in Madrid, with the sunglasses and the cigar? Well, at Milan, he’d turn up to train in a helicopter. He lived in Parma, and his wife knew how to fly one. He’d step out like James Bond. If anyone lived with style, it was Carlo.”
Ancelotti could still have a change of heart in the future and follow in the footsteps of two of his former pupils, Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema, who are currently plying their trade with Al-Nassr and Al-Ittihad, respectively, in the Saudi Pro League. Nonetheless, in the short term, the Madrid tactician has a fixture against Real Betis to deal with at Benito Villamarin on Saturday in La Liga.
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