Carlo Ancelotti Talks Liverpool, Jose Mourinho, Cristiano Ronaldo and More

Carlo Ancelotti has implied he might have taken over the Liverpool job following the recent sacking of Brendan Rodgers had he been contacted by the Reds.

The three-time Champions League winner has been out of a job since being sacked by Real Madrid at the end of last season, and he was among the favourites to take over at Anfield before Jurgen Klopp was appointed.

Ancelotti praised Liverpool and Klopp and said the Reds have the potential to become a top side, but denied ever being contacted by the Merseyside club following the October departure of Rodgers, per Matt Lawton in the Daily Mail:

I think Liverpool are a good team. They have some really good young players—Coutinho, Firmino, Benteke. If they can find an experienced player like Gerrard or Carragher—an example to the squad—I think they can be really competitive.

But I did not speak with them. If I spoke with them I can say "yes", but no, I did not. No. 

They made the right appointment in Klopp. He is a good manager. With the best managers you see their identity in their team. Klopp's Dortmund team had a very strong identity.

The Italian admitted he would be eager to come back to work in England having previously won the Premier League and FA Cup double with Chelsea in 2010.

He has been widely tipped as a possible replacement for Jose Mourinho at Stamford Bridge should the Portuguese lose his job following Chelsea's disastrous start to the season, per Bleacher Report's Dean Jones:

Ancelotti, 56, said he would have "no problem" returning to Chelsea, but he does not believe Mourinho will be sacked having been backed by the club. He insists Mourinho can sort out the Blues' current problems, per Lawton: 

Mourinho is one of the best managers in the world, no doubt.

I look at his body language and he's OK. He is not so worried. He has confidence.

During the Dynamo Kiev game the supporters were singing his name. He'll sort it out.

Ancelotti's most likely route back to Premier League management could be through Manchester City, who are reportedly targeting him as Manuel Pellegrini's replacement should they miss out on Bayern Munich's Pep Guardiola, per Jeremy Cross in the Daily Star (h/t BBC Radio 4's Nick Sutton):

He remains one of the most sought-after managers in the world, despite his somewhat unceremonious sacking by Los Blancos at the end of the trophy-less 2014-15 campaign.

Ancelotti had led Real to La Decima in the previous season, and he does not believe it was right for him to get the boot from the Bernabeu.

However, he has only praise for the Real players, particularly Cristiano Ronaldo—whose film premiere he attended earlier this week—and his immense professionalism, per Lawton:

I watched the film (entitled Ronaldo) and it was good but it did not show how professional he is.

We would sometimes return from a European game. It could be three in the morning but Ronaldo would be the player who did not go straight home. Instead he would go to the training ground for the ice bath, to help with his recovery from the game. 

As a group they were very professional, though. Casillas, Modric, Bale also. It was a little more difficult with Bale because I was used to speaking to the players in Spanish, but he is a nice guy.

It will surely not be long before Ancelotti is back in a top job in European football and a return to England certainly seems a genuine possibility.

Often under-valued, Ancelotti's record is remarkable and it would most certainly be a boost for the Premier League to have him managing again in the English top flight.