Ancelotti Refuses to Discuss Future After Talk of Rift With Madrid Board

Carlo Ancelotti has strongly denied reports that a breach has opened between him and Real Madrid's ruling class, with the club during a torrid period having been knocked out of the Champions League and falling behind arch-rivals Barcelona in the title race.

There have been rumors that he will be departing the Bernabeu someday, with some speculating that he could depart even after the Copa del Rey final against Barcelona later this month.

'Los Blancos' go into Sunday's home encounter with Athletic Bilbao after they had been comprehensively beaten over two legs in Europe by Arsenal and Ancelotti's side have also suffered successive defeats at the Bernabeu for the first time in 17 months.

"I regret nothing," Ancelotti said during his pre-match press conference in Madrid on Saturday. "As I've always maintained, I've always had a good rapport with the club since I've been here. I always had it and I'll always have it. Everything we've done and everything we'll do, and everything we'll attempt to do from here on out, we'll do it together. We never had and we will never have any form of confrontation. To say there's some form of confrontation between me and the club is unreal. It's to deceive the people."

Currently trail Barcelona by four points with seven games left to play in La Liga, but after Barcelona plays against Celta Vigo later today, Ancelotti's side could be seven points behind when they take the field for their match against Bilbao. Africanews