Carlo Ancelotti Reportedly Shortlisted by Barcelona Amid Real Madrid Rumours

It seems as though Barcelona have been looking at Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti with a begrudging admiration after reports surfaced suggesting the Catalans are keen on appointing the Italian as manager should Luis Enrique leave Camp Nou.

That’s according to El Pais (h/t AS), which claims the Blaugrana will sound out Ancelotti to “cover their backs” if their current boss walk away at the end of this season. The report states Barcelona “like how well he works with star names” and that the Italian has already held “informal discussions” with the Liga giants' head of international football, Ariedo Braida.

Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images

As noted by the aforementioned piece, Enrique has yet to confirm his long-term intentions. According to Simon Jones of the MailOnline, the Los Blancos manager is set to be axed, with Rafael Benitez waiting in the wings to take over at the Santiago Bernabeu.

David Cartlidge of beIN Sports thinks replacing Ancelotti with Benitez would be a big error on the part of the capital club:

The Barcelona link is certainly intriguing. Ancelotti has undeniable pedigree, and although he’s set to be shown the door at Real this summer, he has a penchant for getting the best out of superstar players.

Denis Doyle/Getty Images

As such, you’d expect the Italian would relish the prospect of working with giants of the game such as Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar.

If he was to make the switch, the former Milan manager will work with some more sensational players, as Spanish football expert Guillem Balague highlighted when he selected his combined Barcelona and Real Madrid starting XI for Bleacher Report:

But swapping the white of Madrid for a Blaugrana jersey comes with a clutch of undesirable caveats, and at this stage of his managerial career, it’s probably something Ancelotti could do without.

Indeed, football journalist Rafael Hernandez doesn’t think much of the reports linking the Italian with a sensational switch to Camp Nou:

At this juncture, there’s little to suggest Enrique will be on his way anyway. While there were some murmurings about unrest in the Catalans camp earlier in the campaign, those concerns have since abated, and Barcelona have played a fluid, ferocious brand of football since.

Michel Euler/Associated Press

Although Barca's aforementioned triumvirate of stars have been scintillating to watch, Enrique’s decision to shift Messi out to the right and Suarez inside to spearhead the attack has been the catalyst for their stunning recent form. For that, the club's former midfielder deserves immense credit.

As noted here by BreatheSport, Enrique's performance during his maiden campaign in charge at Camp Nou has even surpassed that of the great Pep Guardiola:

"

Win % during first season at Barcelona: Luis Enrique – 84% Pep Guardiola - 68% pic.twitter.com/C97iy4lr8e

— BreatheSport (@BreatheSport) May 18, 2015"

Ancelotti will have his pick of jobs if he leaves Real, but in the unlikely event Enrique does leave, you suspect he would prefer to do without the invective and hyperbole that would come his way should he swap the capital for Catalonia.

The Italian may have fallen out of favour at the Bernabeu this season, but his name will be forever etched into the annals of Real’s rich history after overseeing the club’s 10th European Cup triumph in 2014.

Ancelotti’s association with that success, his own principles and the fierce rivalry between these two eternal enemies make this switch an extremely unlikely prospect.