This is why Carlo Ancelotti left Everton for Real Madrid - according to Marcel Brands

Marcel Brands has claimed that Carlo Ancelotti left Everton because he felt he ‘no longer felt the support of the owners’.

The Toffees’ former director of football been speaking to Dutch media outlet NOS on his time at Goodison Park.

When Ancelotti arrived as Everton manager in December 2019, it was regarded as a major coup.

Yet the Champions League-winning manager left 18 months later when he was prised back to Real Madrid.

And last season he guided Los Blancos to La Liga glory and their 14th European Cup with a 1-0 defeat of Liverpool in Paris.

Everton, meanwhile, narrowly avoided Premier League relegation in what proved a rollercoaster year.

Brands has indicated that he had to fight to keep the Italian in the Blues hot seat at times during his tenure.

And the current PSV Eindhoven general manager hinted that Ancelotti didn’t feel he was being backed by owner Farhad Moshiri, which led to his exit.

What;s been said

Brands, via Sport Witness, said: “Everton is a wonderful club, but in the end I didn’t get the satisfaction I would have liked.

“As soon as you think you have a bit of grip, you lose it very quickly.

“At the time, I had to talk crazily to be able to keep Ancelotti in the saddle.

“The owners looked at it very simply and said: ‘There have been three losses, Marcel, do something about it’.

“Ancelotti eventually left for Real Madrid because he no longer felt the support of the owners. An awful shame. Ancelotti is not only an excellent coach but also a fantastic human being.”

‘A gift for the manager’

Rafa Benitez took over from Carlo Ancelotti as Everton boss last summer.

The former Liverpool chief lasted just six-and-a-half months, though - and was sacked a month after Brands left.

Brands claimed that he was overruled by Benitez when it came to recruitment of players.

He added: “A transfer is then pushed through because the manager knows a player, and the owner goes along with it under the guise: ‘Marcel, you may be right, but see it as a gift for the manager’.”