Ancelotti: Ferguson asked me to succeed him at Man Utd

Everton boss, Carlo Ancelotti, has revealed that Sir Alex Ferguson wanted him to take charge of Manchester United in 2013.

The Italian, whose side face Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s team on Wednesday evening, said he had always been grateful to the Scot for considering him but had committed himself to Real Madrid instead. United have not approached him since.

Ancelotti said: “I can say that I keep a fantastic relationship with Sir Alex. We met when he decided to stop but I was close to Real Madrid. I appreciate the fact at that time he talked to me.”

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Ferguson revealed in 2015 that Ancelotti was one of several ‘very desirable’ candidates whose availability he canvassed before settling on David Moyes.

“It became apparent that Jose Mourinho had given his word to Roman Abramovich that he would return to Chelsea and that Carlo Ancelotti would succeed him at Real Madrid,” he wrote in his book Leading.