• Ligue 1

Mourinho exit expected as Madrid close in on Ancelotti

ESPN staff
May 20, 2013

Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi has revealed he believes Carlo Ancelotti has already signed a pre-contract agreement with Real Madrid, but warned the Spanish club they face a fight for the Italian coach.

Al-Khelaifi held talks with PSG boss Ancelotti and sporting director Leonardo on Sunday, during which the former Chelsea manager asked to leave.

Ancelotti himself revealed on Sunday of his hope to quit the club, and admitted Madrid were "an option" for him. However, he said he was waiting for a decision from PSG on his future as he remains under contract, which was extended automatically for an extra year due to the club's title win.

And Al-Khelaifi has now told Al-Jazeera that Madrid will not be allowed to ride roughshod over the Ligue 1 champions.

"I think he signed a pre-contract with Real Madrid, but I can't imagine Real Madrid will make him sign an agreement or there will be a problem in law," he said. "There will be no arm-wrestling. We just respect principles, contracts and what we said we would do. You have methods, situations in law and negotiations in order to make everything well."

The statement is in line with Al-Khelaifi's views aired in a L'Equipe interview last week when he revealed that he had already told Madrid to "respect us, respect this contract", with regard to an approach by the Spanish club.

However, the PSG president also suggested he would attempt to find a solution should Ancelotti ask to leave, saying: "We have to respect him because we haven't forgotten what he's done for the club."

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