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‘Leave me alone today’ - Carlo Ancelotti laughs off Real Madrid exit rumours after ‘2,500th press conference'

Carlo Ancelotti called on the media to leave him alone for a change amid rumours of him leaving Real Madrid at the end of the season.

Madrid trail 12 points behind Barcelona
Doubts linger over Ancelotti's future
Manager insists he has nothing to prove

WHAT HAPPENED? Although Real Madrid sent Barcelona packing in the Copa del Rey with a brilliant 4-0 victory at Camp Nou, they find themselves trailing their eternal rivals by 12 points in La Liga.

Questions have been asked about his future in Spain as Madrid have intermittently looked lacklustre in the league and lost the Spanish Super Cup to Barcelona.

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WHAT THEY SAID: Ahead of their match against Villarreal on Saturday, when Ancelotti was asked if he was surprised that there are still lingering doubts about his Real Madrid future the Italian replied: "After 1,272 games I don’t have to prove anything to anyone. everyone is free to opine or evaluate as they wish. If I have managed 1,272 games, I don’t know how many press conferences I have given… probably double, that’s for certain. You can imagine, so leave me alone today [laughs].”

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THE BIGGER PICTURE: Ancelotti also assured that he thinks Karim Benzema, Luka Modric and Toni Kroos "are talking" and are likely to sign extensions soon, with their contracts set to expire in the summer.

"There is progress, they are talking... I see Benzema, Kroos and Modric as always. I think that the three of them will continue, but the day they are gone we will have to look for another line. We have youngsters who will also mark an era in Madrid, but they will do it in a different way than Kroos and Modric," he stated.