Carlo Ancelotti on Özil, and Other Topics

Carlo Ancelotti spoke to Gulf News during Real Madrid’s visit to Qatar to play a friendly against Paris Saint-German – and admitted that it may have been a “mistake” to sanction Mesut Özil’s 45-million-euro summer move to Arsenal.

Dealing with players: “There is no magic formula in handling the stars. My philosophy is simple: I respect them as professionals and expect they will also respect me.”

Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale: “Ronaldo is our most valuable player, while Bale is still settling down. He was injured initially but has come back strongly. We are working at getting the right combination.”

Özil exit: “I think we made a mistake when we gave him the possibility to leave the club. However, we have fantastic strikers and don’t need a back-up after [Gonzalo] Higuaín’s departure.”

French and Spanish leagues: “The two leagues have a different school of football. While France has a more physical style, La Liga encourages more good football, which has made it so popular.”

Brazil 2014: “I would say Brazil and Spain are ahead, while other teams can be outsiders. As far as Italy is concerned, they have less strength this time but my country has a strong history in the World Cup.”

Problems with Qatar 2022: “There is no problem with organisation, but the fact remains that playing the World Cup in winter may be a problem for the European countries.”