Carlo Ancelotti has admitted that how former Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich viewed Jose Mourinho played a key role in his Chelsea sacking. The Italian coach, who won the Premier League and FA Cup double in his first season, said the Russian billionaire measured his success against Mourinho, and their Champions League clash with Inter Milan proved decisive in his eventual departure from Stamford Bridge.
Ancelotti's Chelsea stint and sacking
Ancelotti was Chelsea boss for two seasons, from 2009 until 2011, delivering a domestic double in his debut year. However, Abramovich dismissed him in the summer of 2011 after another European setback. A critical moment came when Mourinho's Inter knocked Chelsea out of the Champions League in 2010, a result the owner viewed as unacceptable, having already sacked the Portuguese coach.
AdvertisementGetty Images SportAncelotti reveals the Mourinho factor behind his Chelsea exit
"Abramovich made clear he wanted me to win the Champions League with Chelsea and for Chelsea to carve out its identity on the pitch," Ancelotti revealed in his new book , an extract from which was published by the Daily Mail. "But now I was working for a Russian oligarch who I suddenly understood expected everything to go well all the time. And if it didn't, he wanted to know why. It was my job to supply the answers.
"The next day Abramovich didn't talk just to me but to the whole squad. My problem was that Mourinho's triumph was not great for my relationship with Abramovich. I was supposed to be the antidote to Mourinho – calm, measured and able to revive the squad after the drama. According to Abramovich, Mourinho was supposed to be a spent force.
"Allowing him to disrupt the script, I had embarrassed the owner. Success or failure in Europe is how I would be measured by Abramovich – and the Champions League cost me my job. Torres was his personal decision and substituting him was a direct rebuke to the owner. Momentarily, I had forgotten that, ultimately, you can’t beat the owner."
GettyAbramovich got Champions League dream one year later
Ancelotti's story highlights Abramovich's demanding expectations during his Chelsea reign. Despite domestic triumphs, the Russian oligarch measured success almost exclusively by Champions League performance. Chelsea would eventually claim Europe's biggest prize in 2012 under Roberto Di Matteo, albeit as massive underdogs in a famous final against a high-powered Bayern Munich sid eon home turf, a year after Ancelotti's dismissal.
Ancelotti has the last laugh with five Champions League trophies
Already a legend for his feats at AC Milan, Ancelotti has since rebuilt his reputation with spells at Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid and now Brazil. He won Real Madrid's previously elusive title in the Champions League in 2013-14, adding two more in his second spell at the Bernabeu, on top of two European triumphs with Mialn. Meanwhile, Abramovich has since lost his ownership of Chelsea to Todd Boehly and BlueCo. after the oligarch was forced to sell the club due to the sanctions by the UK government following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
