The Brazil Football Federation (CBF) expects Carlo Ancelotti to be coach of the national team in time to manage a pair of CONMEBOL World Cup qualifiers in June, sources have told ESPN's Pedro Ivo Almeida and Victoria Leite.
Although no official agreement is in place between Real Madrid manager Ancelotti and Brazil, discussions in recent days have led to optimism that the 65-year-old will take the job, with sources adding that Ancelotti has told the CBF it can begin planning for his arrival.
The CBF expects Ancelotti to be in Rio de Janeiro on May 26th, two days after Real Madrid's final match of the LaLiga season.
On Sunday, ESPN reported that Ancelotti, whose contract with the LaLiga giants runs until June of 2026, was set to have talks with Madrid president Florentino Perez in order to reach an agreement to leave the club at the end of the season.
While Ancelotti is one of the most successful coaches in Madrid's history -- winning three Champions Leagues and two LaLiga titles during two spells at the Santiago Bernabéu -- the current season has been a disappointment. Madrid lost to Arsenal in the Champions League quarterfinals and to Barcelona in the Copa del Rey final on Saturday. They are four points behind the Catalans in LaLiga with five games to play.
Brazil has been without a coach since March, when it fired Dorival Junior after a humiliating loss to CONMEBOL rivals Argentina in a qualifier.
The five-time World Cup champions, who are fourth in the qualifying table, are set to play Ecuador on June 4 and Paraguay on June 9. If Ancelotti moves on from Madrid in time for those Brazil games, they will need to find a new coach or appoint an interim to oversee Real's participation in this summer's Club World Cup.
Following Saturday's Copa loss to Barcelona, Ancelotti said: "Whether I continue [at Madrid] is an issue for the coming weeks, not for today."
