São Paulo - Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti will leave the Spanish club to take over as the Brazilian national team, the Brazilian Football Federation said on Monday.

The 65-year-old Ancelotti will be Brazil's first full-time foreign coach in a century, but still signs with Madrid. The final round of the Spanish league will be held on May 25, and the CBF said in a statement that he will officially take over Brazil the next day.

"Bringing Carlo Ancelotti to Brazil coaching is not just a strategic sport. It is a statement we are determined to restore the top of the podium," CBF President Ednaldo Rodrigues said in a statement. "He is the greatest coach in history and now, he will be with the greatest national team on the planet. We will co-written a new honorary chapter in Brazilian football."

Rodrigues said Ancelotti will debut in Ecuador on June 5 and five days later in Brazil's next two fixtures in the South American World Cup qualifying match.

Ancelotti's contract with Madrid ends next year but is expected to be terminated as soon as possible.

He will replace Dorival Júnior, who was fired for 14 months in March after Argentina beat 4-1. Brazil ranked fourth after 14 games and fourth in the World Cup qualifying round, and its 33-year-old star Neymar still struggles to recover from its highest form after an ACL injury in 2023. The first six teams will get direct locations in next year's game.

Ancelotti left Madrid after a frustrating season, in which the team failed to defend its European title and saw rival Barcelona win the Cup and approach the league title after a 4-3 win over Madrid on Sunday.

Italian coaches and Real Madrid have not commented on the CBF announcement yet.

Ancelotti's signing ended the turbulent time on Brazil's bench since Tite's 2022 World Cup quarterfinals. Under 20 coach Ramon Menezes and Fluminense coach Fernando Diniz were in charge of several games as Rodriguez sought Ancelotti as a coach.

Menezes and Diniz did poorly, and Ancelotti expanded his deal with Madrid during this period. At the time, Dorival Júnior was drafted in 2024 to bring the team to the World Cup, but he was also fired after a lack of success and poor performance.

Al-Hilal coach Jorge Jesus, a 70-year-old Portuguese who won several titles with Brazil's Flamengo in 2019, was a favorite of Brazil's jobs until he was eliminated by Arsenal in early April. Local media also reported that Neymar's father and agent played a role in preventing his son from taking over in Saudi Arabia's former coach.

Brazil will be Ancelotti's first international experience as a full-time coach. He was an assistant to Arrigo Sacchi in the 1994 World Cup, as Italy lost to Brazil in the final.

This ended Brazil's 24-year World Cup drought, which is the same time frame facing the United States, Mexico and Canada next year.

Ancelotti won the player championships from Rome and AC Milan, plus two European titles, a creative midfielder who began his full-time coaching career in Italy in 1995 at Reggiana.

He has also coached Parma, Juventus, AC Milan, Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich, Naples and Everton, winning championships in Italy, the United Kingdom, Spain, France and Germany.

He won the Champions League twice in Milan in 2003 and 2007, and added three championships in 2014, 2022 and last year with Real Madrid.

Ancelotti will be the second foreign coach to take Brazil to international competitions.

The first was Uruguayan Ramón Platero, who coached Brazil in the 1925 South American Championship, the predecessor of the current Copa America. He played four round-robin games with Paraguay and Argentina, and he spent 19 days at work, two wins, one win, one loss and one tied with Argentina in the final, who won the championship.

Portuguese coach Jorge Gomes de Lima (known as Joreca) shared Brazil's coaching position with local Flavio Costa in two friendly wins in Uruguay in 1944.

In 1965, Argentina coach Filpo Nuñez coached Brazil for a day. Nuñez is the coach of Palmeiras, Brazil's football agency chose a club based in São Paulo to play with Uruguay's national team shirts at the opening ceremony of Mineirao Stadium in Belo Horizonte. The master won 3-0.

Ancelotti's announcement came on the second day after Madrid lost to Barcelona for the fourth consecutive time this season, trailing Catalonian opponents by 7 points, with three rounds remaining.

Former player Xabi Alonso is generally expected to take over the club's helm after confirming his departure from Bayer Leverkusen.

Alonso led Leverkusen to an unprecedented German league and cup match in his first full season after he took over the team in the relegation zone of the Bundesliga, the previous season. Madrid starred as a player, won the Spanish League title in the 2012 and 2014 Champions Leagues before winning three Bundesliga titles along with Bayern Munich.

Madrid still must start participating in the upcoming Club World Cup next month.