Thomas Tuchel among Real Madrid's four-man shortlist to succeed Carlo Ancelotti as manager: Reports

Thomas Tuchel is the favorite to take over as Real Madrid's manager if Carlo Ancelotti vacates the post at the end of the 2022/23 season, as per Fichajes.

The Italian manager could reportedly become the next boss of the Brazilian national team. Tite stepped down as Selecao's head coach after their quarter-final loss against Croatia at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

Club president Florentino Perez is apparently drawing up a contingency plan if Ancelotti departs, and Tuchel is at the top of his list. The German won the UEFA Champions League with Chelsea in his first season at the west London club.

However, he was sacked by the new owners led by Todd Boehly on September 7 in favor of Graham Potter. Tuchel has been a free agent since.

Second on the list is Mauricio Pochettino, who has been without a club since leaving his role as Paris Saint-Germain's (PSG) manager at the end of last season.

Former Real Madrid player Raul Gonzalez could also be an option to succeed Ancelotti. The Spanish legend was on Los Blancos' books for 18 years as a player and has been the manager of Real's youth teams at various levels since 2018.

Last but not least, 2014 FIFA World Cup-winning coach Joachim Low is also on the agenda. His last game as Germany's manager came in the 2020 UEFA Euros last-16 defeat against England.

It remains to be seen if Ancelotti will want to leave Real Madrid anytime soon. But if he does, it is safe to say that a club of Los Merengues' status should have no problem finding a suitable replacement for him.

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Roberto Martinez rules out Real Madrid star coming out of retirement

Roberto Martinez stepped down as Belgium's manager after a disappointing 2022 FIFA World Cup campaign which ended in the group stages.

Eden Hazard also called it quits from the national team after making 126 appearances for them over the course of 14 years. When asked if the Real Madrid winger could return to the national team set-up in the future, Martinez told AS (h/t MadridUniversal):

"No. Eden is a team player. I don’t think he will return for a tournament for which he didn’t qualify on the field. Then it would also hinder someone who did it."

Hazard's future at Real Madrid is also uncertain, however, the Belgian has stated that he wants to continue at the Spanish club and prove his worth to Ancelotti.

But with just 98 minutes of league football this season, it is hard to see the former Chelsea winger forcing his way into Real Madrid's starting XI again. Hazard's contract ends at the end of the 2023/24 season.