Still to this day, even three years on from his shock exit, it still doesn’t feel real that Everton once had Carlo Ancelotti as their manager.
Snagged as the almighty coup for Farhad Moshiri just after sacking Marco Silva, the Italian was the blockbuster head coach he had been searching for, and surely, after years of failed attempts, he would be the man to lead the Toffees back to glory.
However, few could possibly have predicted the financial turmoil was to come, not least the 65-year-old himself.
His subsequent 2021 exit back to Real Madrid came out of nowhere, but was a move few begrudged him for.
He has since opened up about why he made the move, and what the media said about it.
Carlo Ancelotti opens up on his shock Everton spell
Ancelotti has opened up rather sparingly on his time with Everton, likely not wanting to throw the ownership under the bus that had clearly given him plenty of false promises.
After all, this fanbase is under no illusions about why he left the club for Real Madrid, with his choice having been instantly vindicated by the plethora of trophies he has since accumulated.
But, there is also a feeling like he had been offered much more to build a brighter future, and PSR was an unforeseen hurdle that he did not fancy trying to navigate.
Despite enjoying fine moments with Napoli and the Toffees, neither bore fruit in the way he would have liked.
And, now speaking to La Coz de Galicia, via Sport Witness, he thinks the media wrote him off for going to those clubs. He noted: ‘Real is Real, what could be better? Here there is a respect for history, all the footballers of the past are present in the photographs of the Ciudad Deportiva.
‘I maintain the passion, this is how I live the game, my work, I have always carried this balance with me.
‘I have overcome moments that are not always positive, after my experience with Everton I was off the radar, they thought I was old. In Naples the same thing.’
Everton were lucky to have a manager of his status
Even if it didn’t quite work out for the Italian across his short spell on Merseyside, Everton must still feel supremely lucky to have had someone of his calibre grace the Goodison Park dugout, even if only for a season and a half.
After all, what he has accomplished within the sport is unparalleled, having won five Champions League titles, the most of any manager of all time.
Not only that, but he is also the only head coach to have won at least one league title in each of Europe’s top five leagues.
His allure was so impressive that it even spurred James Rodriguez, a world-class talent who has enjoyed a glittering career, to also join him for a year at Goodison Park.
So, even if they have no trophies or European football to show for his tenure with the Toffees, the club still must feel incredibly lucky to have had him once affiliated with the club. He is one of a kind, and one of the greatest of all time.
And, at one time, he was Everton’s.