Ancelotti: This Real Madrid is stronger than last season

Real Madrid head coach Carlo Ancelotti is confident he has a solid enough squad to make up for the disappointments of last campaign, which saw the team lose both the La Liga and Champions League titles. The team has been abandoned by its captain Karim Benzema, and the only centre-forward is now 33-year-old Joselu, who arrived on loan from relegated Espanyol. "This Real team is now stronger than the one from last season", the Italian expressed confidence from the team's camp in the USA, where the "whites" are already.

"Our goal is again success in the SHL, La Liga, the Spanish Cup and the Spanish Super Cup - added Ancelotti. - I believe that with only one central striker we can fight for these trophies. It is true that Benzema left us, but even so he was not the typical "nine". Basically, we already have a replacement for Karim. It could be Joselu, it could be someone else. We will adapt the scheme based on the qualities of the players we have. Jude Bellingham can help us a lot offensively. Arda Güler, Rodrigo, Luka Modric... all of them can act as a "ten".

"Overall, I am very pleased with the quality of the new competitors. Fran García will help on the left side of defense where we struggled last season. Joselu will make us stronger in the air. Guler is talented and very young, and the fans will definitely like him. Bellingham has outstanding qualities in midfield. Last season we didn't have a midfielder with his characteristics. I'll try something new and see what happens. If things don't work out, we can always go back to the formation from the past," the mentor added.

He did not want to answer specifically whether there is indeed an agreement to take over the Brazil national team when his contract with Real expires next summer. "I will not talk about Brazil. I have a contract with Real and I'm here. Would I re-sign? I'm in no rush because, as I said, I have a contract. They have full confidence in me here. Let's see what happens in the season. I even think that things will turn out well", Ancelotti is optimistic. In the end, the coach did not want to comment on the possibility of Kylian Mbappe's transfer to the Bernabeu team. Real Madrid kicks off the American controls with a match against AC Milan on Monday.