Real Madrid have opened talks with Carlo Ancelotti as they seek to appoint a replacement for Zinedine Zidane, reports state.
Zidane ended his second spell in charge at the Santiago Bernabeu last week after his side lost out to Atletico Madrid in the La Liga title race.
Florentino Perez and his colleagues have now begun the search for a new boss, and Ancelotti is among the targets.
According to Cadena SER, Madrid have approached the Everton head coach, who won the Champions League with los Blancos in 2014.
Antonio Conte, Mauricio Pochettino and Raul have also been linked with the vacancy, which Madrid hope to fill as soon as possible.
For now Ancelotti is just another option, but he remains a popular figure in the corridors of power at the Bernabeu.
Everton are also taking the news seriously and have begun to look for potential replacements for the Italian.
Meanwhile, Zidane has lifted the lid on the reasons behind his departure in an open letter.
“I’m leaving because I feel that the club didn't give me the support I needed, it didn't offer me the support to construct a project for the medium or long term,” he wrote.
“Here they have forgotten something very important, everything we built each day, everything I contributed to the relationship with the players, with the 150 people who work with the team,” continued the French coach.
“You have human beings, emotions and life and I got the impression that these things were not being appreciated, and people forgot that's how you maintain the dynamic of a great club. I even felt in a certain way that I was being reproached.
“I am not asking for privileges, of course not, but a bit of memory. That's why it hurt so much when I read in the press, after one defeat, that I was going to be sacked if I didn't win the next game.
“It hurt me and all my team because these messages that were intentionally leaked to the media created negative feelings with the squad, they created doubts and misunderstandings.”
Subscribe to FourFourTwo today and get a FREE England Euro 96 shirt!
NOW READ
EURO 2020 Every squad, final and provisional
FEATURE Timo Werner: How can Thomas Tuchel unlock his forward's potential?
QUIZ! Can you give 50 correct answers in The Big Champions League Quiz?
