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#3 Andrea Pirlo
Like Carlo Ancelotti, Andrea Pirlo exuded calmness, composure and elegance on the pitch. When Don Carlo arrived at AC Milan in 2001, Pirlo was being used as a No. 10 in an attacking midfield role. Ancelotti decided to deploy the Italy international as a deep-lying playmaker, and the rest is history.
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One of the greatest passers to have graced the sport and a lethal dead-ball specialist, Pirlo was arguably the most creative midfielder of his era. He made 327 appearances under Carlo Ancelotti, scoring 39 goals and providing 61 assists.
Blessed with the ability to dictate the pace of games and control the tempo of plays, Pirlo played a starring role in each of Ancelotti's eight trophy wins with AC Milan.
#2 Kaka
A supremely majestic presence on the pitch, Kaka blossomed into one of the best players in the world under Carlo Ancelotti. The Brazilian maestro won the 2007 Ballon d'Or after leading AC Milan to Champions League glory earlier in the year, scoring ten goals and assisting thrice in 13 games.
Light on his feet and capable of gliding past opponents at will, Kaka, with his clever passing and eye for goal, was an incredibly well-rounded midfielder. He made 270 appearances for Ancelotti, across a six-year spell at AC Milan and towards the end of his Real Madrid tenure.
With 95 goals and 84 assists under the Italian coach, Kaka is the most prolific assist-provider Ancelotti has managed so far. Although the Brazilian's peak was plagued by injuries, he will always be remembered as one of the most graceful and entertaining players of the 21st century.
#1 Cristiano Ronaldo
Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo spent only two seasons with Don Carlo, which came at Real Madrid between 2013 and 2015. The forward, though, was on another level during that period, netting 112 goals and 47 assists in just 101 games under the Italian.
That included the 2014-15 season, where Ronaldo scored a scorching 48 goals to go with 22 assists in just 38 league games. It remains the best league return of the Portuguese star's career so far.
That came on the back of a 2013-14 campaign, where Real Madrid won La Decima (tenth European Cup), with Ronaldo scoring a record 17 goals in 11 Champions League games. It remains the highest-ever tally by a player in a single edition of the competition.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlo Ancelotti won the UEFA Champions League, a Copa del Rey, a FIFA Club World Cup and the UEFA Super Cup together in Madrid. Although their partnership was a brief one, it is safe to say that the best displays of Ronaldo's career came under the Italian manager. The Portuguese superstar won back-to-back Ballon d'Or awards (2013 and 2014) during that spell.
