Ranking Real Madrid’s best ever managers: Why departing Carlo Ancelotti tops Jose Mourinho, Zinedine Zindane

Carlo Ancelotti now has Officially become a member of Brazil Where he becomes the manager of the national team prior to the World Cup 2026. Real Madrid is about to experience one of the biggest changes in their recent history, because Ancelotti leaves the Spanish club after he has become the most successful coach in the history of Real Madrid with 15 won trophies won. With Xabi Alonso ready to take the lead over the European giants prior to the FIFA Club World Cup in the summer, it is now time to take a step back and to recognize Ancelotti’s cycle in the club for what he did in Madrid. Where is he in terms of the best managers who have ever managed the Spanish club? Let’s rank the top five coaches in the history of Real Madrid:

5. Jose Mourinho (2010-2013)

This is perhaps a strange one, but most of the Real Madrid fan base regards Portuguese manager Jose Mourinho among the best coaches in the history of the Spanish club. This is mainly because Mourinho was able to win the LA Liga title during the 2011-12 season, the first manager who beat Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona during those magical years before the Blaugrana. After his appointment in the summer of 2010, just a few days after winning the Treble with Inter, Florentino Perez chose the special one to bring Real Madrid back to glory and try to stop Barcelona’s dominance of those years. In his first year he won the Copa del Rey who defeated Barcelona in the final, while the following year was able to achieve a sensational competition.

4. Vicente del Bosque (1994, 1996, 1999-2003)

The legendary Spanish manager was one of the most iconic coaches in the history of European football. In Real Madrid, Del Bosque won two Laliga titles and in particular two Champions League trophies, including the 2001 edition with a 2-1 win over Bayer Leverkusen thanks to the winning goal of Zinedine Zidane in the second half. Del Bosque was also an iconic player at Real Madrid, where he won five La Liga titles from 1974 to 1980. Del Bosque coached Real Madrid three times about his career, twice as a caretaker manager before 1999 when he returned and one of the most successful chapters in the history of the team. Because Florentino Perez was chosen for the first time in 2000, he also became the first manager of his legendary presidency.

3. Miguel Munoz (1960-1974)

He was probably one of the most iconic figures of Spanish football of the 20th century. Munoz played for Real Madrid from 1948 to 1958 and won three Champions League titles as a player before he became the manager of the team in 1960, where he started one of the most successful chapters of the team. As a coach he won two champions competitions in 1960 and 1966 and nine La Liga titles, next to other trophies. With 601 games managed as Real Madrid coach, he is still the coach with the most games that are coached in the history of the club and marked one of the most dominant cycles in the history of the game.

2. Zinedine Zidane (2016-2018, 2019-2021)

The French manager was an icon as a player and then as manager of the Spanish giants. When Florentino Perez appointed him in 2016 to become the new coach, there were some doubts after he had replaced Rafa Benitez on the Spanish bank because it was his first experience as the first team head coach, after winning the Champions League two years earlier as an assistant manager of Carlo Ancelotti. Zidane coached Real Madrid from 2016 to 2018 and then again from 2019 to 2021, and during his enchantment he won the Champions League from 2016 to 2018 three years in a row and became the first manager in the history of the competition to make that happen. From today, Real Madrid was the first and only club he coached in his career.

1. Carlo Ancelotti (2013-2015, 2021-2025)

And then of course Ancelotti. The Italian manager is one of the most successful managers in the history of football, because he has won 31 major trophies in his career in Italy, France, Germany, Spain and England. He is the only manager who wins competition titles in all five major European competitions and has the record for most Champions League titles (five) and UEFA Super Cup titles (five) as a coach. During his two spells in Real Madrid, he was able to win the Champions League three times, the first in 2014 when Real Madrid won against Atletico Madrid in the final for “La Decima”, the Tenth Champions League Teams title. He then won in 2022 against Liverpool and then last year against Borussia Dortmund in London. With 15 trophies won in the club, Ancelotti has become the most decorated manager in the history of Real Madrid.