Carlo Ancelotti has hopped from Chelsea to Paris Saint-Germain to Real Madrid; from Roman Abramovich to Nasser Al-Khelaifi to Florentino Perez.

Three men who like their clubs to have the world’s best players and three men who are prepared to spend to get them.

Ancelotti was also previously at AC Milan, another one of Europe’s super clubs, but their owner, Silvio Berlusconi, has different vices to those of Abramovich, Al-Khelaifi and Perez.

Despite the funds he’s had available to him over the last five years, though, you get the feeling that Madrid’s boss isn’t one to go all guns blazing to pay over the odds for a football player.

That may seem crazy, considering James Rodriguez and Gareth Bale have arrived since he’s been at the Bernabeu, but there is a line of thought that he wasn’t necessarily behind those deals.

He works well with what he’s given; it just happens that he’s given a lot of expensive footballers.

He’s not often given them in January, mind—but he will always be linked to one of the winter transfer window’s most memorable splurges of money.

People had just celebrated the turning of the year from 2010 to 2011; football was a slightly different place back then, although not entirely.

Spain were the World Cup holders, Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona could not be beaten, Manchester City had never won the Premier League and Chelsea, who were bossed by Ancelotti, were the holders of it.

Still, spend while you’re on top is the motto of some and Abramovich certainly thought that was the case that January.

Not only did Stamford Bridge welcome David Luiz for £25 million—which can now be considered good business considering they doubled their money selling him to PSG—but they also handed over £50 million to Liverpool for Fernando Torres.

The Spanish striker’s arrival rocked the boat, though. He scored just one goal in 18 appearances under Ancelotti, who would leave at the end of a trophy-less season.

Torres, as has been well documented over the last two years, and constantly too, never did recover the Liverpool form that made him the best No. 9 in the world.

That January aside, Ancelotti has never been lavish in the winter.

He notably signed David Beckham twice—once at AC Milan (2009) and then again at PSG (2013) —but on neither occasion was a fee involved.

In 2007 he did shell out around £6 million to take Ronaldo from Real Madrid to AC Milan at a time when the Italian club were getting themselves a reputation for hoovering up talented players from years gone by.

He signed a goalkeeper, Marco Storari, that same window and the year before had signed the Brazilian Marcio Amoroso.

Ancelotti‘s first January window at PSG, with Al-Khelaifi’s Christmas money, was fairly active, although that may have been because the Italian only took the job in December and activity was necessary.

However, he was unable to land any big targets, possibly because of reluctance from the very best, at that point at least, to go and play in France’s Ligue 1.

Alex followed him from Chelsea, Maxwell came from Barcelona and Thiago Motta was pinched from Inter Milan, all for a total spending of less than £20 million.

Goalkeeper Ronan le Crom also arrived to boost numbers.

The following January, before he swapped the French capital for the Spanish one, Beckham, as mentioned, arrived on a free and Lucas Moura joined for close to £30 million—the deal had been agreed the previous summer, though.

At Madrid, business tends to be done in the summer.

Last season there was no need for reinforcements in January and Ancelotti hinted that would again be the case this time round.

“I’m happy with the squad that I have, so we have no need for anyone in January,” he said earlier in December, per Goal.

However injuries to Luka Modric, Sami Khedira and James Rodriguez have forced a rethink and Ancelotti is no longer so certain that there will be no need for signings.

“We have to wait for the Christmas period, when things will be much clearer; then we’ll make a decision,” he was quoted as saying to Real Madrid’s official website, per Sky Sports.

“We are interested in the Lucas Silva, but also in other players.

“After the Club World Cup we will make a decision by evaluating the situations of the midfielders who are injured at the moment.”

History suggests Ancelotti, personally at least, is not one to make waves in the January window.

But if it’s necessary, he may take the chance to add to Madrid’s ranks in the New Year.

from Bleacher Report – Front Page http://ift.tt/13tNTl2
via IFTTT http://ift.tt/eA8V8J