Real Madrid Boss Carlos Ancelotti Wants $68M Forward Who Was Once Wanted By Barcelona: Report

Carlos Ancelotti is reportedly keen on signing Everton forward Richarlison at Real Madrid during the 2021 summer transfer window.

Everton will listen to offers for Richarlison if the Brazilian playmaker pushes for an exit, unnamed sources told soccer publication Football Insider. International Business Times, however, could not verify it independently.

Ancelotti, who was appointed Everton’s manager in December 2019 on a four-and-a-half-year deal, recently parted ways with the Merseyside club after bagging a job at Real Madrid. Ancelotti managed Los Blancos between 2013 and 2015 and has now replaced Zinedine Zidane at Santiago Bernabeu. Ancelotti’s departure has left Everton looking for a fifth manager.

Everton are believed to have funds to spend this summer market but it could become a balancing act with UEFA's financial fair play rules. This would require the club to sell a few players before they make any signings and the 24-year-old Richarlison is set to fall into the category, provided he wants to leave, according to ESPN.

Even though the Brazilian forward did not have a great run in the 2020-21 campaign, where he managed only seven goals and three assists in as many as 34 matches in the Premier League, he is considered to be one of the two prized possessions of the club alongside striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin. Everton had turned down a massive $120 million offer from FC Barcelona for Richarlison in January 2020, according to Sky Sports.

Richarlison, who is contracted with Everton until 2024, has a current market value of around $68 million, according to Transfermarkt. The central forward has overall netted 42 goals and nine assists in 119 matches, across all competitions, for the club since his debut for the Toffees in 2018.

If Richarlison decides to join Ancelotti at Madrid, it won’t be the first time he would have followed a manager from one club to another. He had followed former Everton boss Marco Silva from Watford to Goodison Park back in 2018 for around $49 million.