Brazil have not won a World Cup since 2002. Since then, every campaign has come unstuck as soon as they come up against a European side in the knockout stages. Ancelotti is seen as the man to get them over that hurdle.

Carlo Ancelotti is swapping Real Madrid for Brazil in one of the biggest moves in world soccer. The problem is, neither he, nor Madrid, want to talk about it. As coaching switches go, they don’t come any bigger than this.