Carlo Ancelotti has revealed his love for Old Trafford, whilst also admitting he is ready to return to English football. David Beckham’s organised Unicef charity match on Saturday saw many legends of the game such as Paul Scholes, Edwin van Der Sar and Ronaldinho play out a good contest at the Theatre of Dreams, the game ended 3-1 to Great Britain and Ireland’s side, manager by Sir Alex Ferguson. However, it was the comments of the oppositions manager, Carlo Ancelotti, who grabbed the attention.

The former Chelsea and Real Madrid manager was considered as a successor to Sir Alex Ferguson when the former Manchester United manager retired in 2013, instead, he joined Real Madrid – only to be sacked two seasons later.

The unemployed manager had this to say on the home of Manchester United:

“I must say that visiting Old Trafford is always very special for me, as it was the site of my first Champions League victory (with AC Milan in 2003),” he said. “I’ve always enjoyed bringing my teams here and I believe it’s one of the best stadiums in the world.”

“There are many things which make it a special place, but for me it is down to its atmosphere, history and the tradition of Manchester United.”

Ancelotti has been linked with the jobs at Chelsea and Manchester City, and many could argue he would be a suitable replacement for Louis van Gaal at Manchester United. Sir Alex Ferguson believes the Italian is one of the best managers around, and insists it won’t be long before the 56-year-old is back in football.

Writing in the programme for the Unicef game, he said:

“[He’s] one of my good friends and also one of the best managers the game has seen.

“He’s a great guy and I think he’ll be back in the game shortly, there’s no doubt about that. People with that ability don’t stay out of it for too long.”

“Of course, we’ve come up against each other as managers before.”

“My best memory of those meetings has to be when we beat Juventus in the Champions League semi-final in 1999 in Turin.”

“Juventus had an incredible record at home, but our win there put us in the final and for me that was a fantastic moment.”

“Carlo had an unbelievable record in the European Cup as a player and a manager – winning it twice in both roles with AC Milan, as well as winning it again as manager at Real Madrid.”

[Quotes from Manchester Evening News]