Exclusive: Man City and Real Madrid could do battle over former Liverpool star with Carlos Ancelotti's future in doubt

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Pressure is mounting on Real Madrid chief Florentino Perez to replace Carlo Ancelotti, but TBR Football has been told he he would prefer not to make a change before the end of the season.

Real are going through a tough period which has brought up the prospect of Ancelotti leaving the Spanish capital and it is being discussed by the club's hierarchy, we can confirm.

Real have lost three of their last six games, and amongst those included a 4-0 drubbing at the hands of rivals Barcelona, and two Champions League defeats to Lille and AC Milan – which is hard to take for the European champions.

The recent downturn in form comes despite the fact they have introduced French superstar Kylian Mbappe into a side that already contains some of the world’s top talent with the likes of Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham coming into the season off the back of fantastic campaigns.

However, things have not so far gone to plan and Perez is under pressure to consider a change.

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Xabi Alonso is a wanted man with Real and Man City

Ancelotti is under contract until 2026, but sources admit that such is the friendship between him and Perez, that he will leave the club if that is seen as the best way forward.

Perez does have a succession plan in his mind and TBR Football understands that bringing Xabi Alonso back to the Santiago Bernabeu is seen as the ideal scenario.

However, Real are also aware that Manchester City have Alonso on their list of options should Pep Guardiola decide to leave.

As it stands City sources have confirmed to TBR Football that they are increasingly confident Guardiola will sign a new contract but they are prepared should the situation arise that they need a new boss.

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Former star Raul could be option if Carlo Ancelotti leaves

Should Real look to move for Alonso, it would not be an easy deal to pursue.

Alonso, as he proved in the summer when rejecting Liverpool, has not been keen on leaving Bayer Leverkusen before the end of the season but Real Madrid could give him something to think about.

Real for their part also have other options and we are told that includes the possibility of club legend Raul coming in as an interim boss, although he is known to have ambitions of managing the club on a permanent basis.