Ancelotti: “Racism isn’t Vinicius’ problem, it’s society’s problem”

Carlo Ancelotti was back in the hotseat in Valdebebas to look ahead to Tuesday’s Copa del Rey tie against Cacereño. That wasn’t the only subject which the Real Madrid coach was asked about during his press conference - Toni Kroos and Marco Asensio will both be out of contract at the end of June and are now in a position to start negotiating with other clubs...

This morning, Madrid opened the doors of their training ground to let 5,000 fans watch the players at work at the Alfredo Di Stéfano stadium.

Did having the fans present for today’s session give the players a morale boost?

The atmosphere was very good. It’s a nice thing to do. We are delighted to invite the fans in. They have always been close to us. It’s an important part of our job.

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Have you spoken to Vinicius after what happened in Valladolid?

I can’r speak about an issue which for me, shouldn’t exist. Racism and xenophobia shouldn’t exist. It’s the wrong way around - this isn’t Vinicius’ problem, it’s society’s problem. There needs to be zero tolerance on such matters.

Dani Ceballos. Would you like to see him stay on at Real Madrid?

I’m not going to enter into that. What I see is a player who is committed, motivated and keen to train well. It’s an issue which the player has to discuss with the club.

What are your thoughts on tomorrow’s game?

We will need to be well prepared for it. In all games you need to be ready and give quality, commitment, the will to win... A game in a competition like the Cup demands that we give everything we’ve got - all of those qualities together with the determination to battle it out and get a result.

Toni Kroos’ future, do you see him retiring?

Kroos will have it clear in his mind by the end of the month. I my opinion, as a football fan, I think it’s impossible that he will call it day. I hope he continues.

When you talk about zero tolerance, do you think that the competition organisers should be doing more?

I’m not going to get into that. It doesn’t have to be LaLiga’s problem or the RFEF, it’s a cultural issue, one affecting society in general. It’s a problem with a society that lacks education. It’s not about Vinicius, LaLiga or the sanctions. You have to look at the bigger picture - the racism and xenophobia problem is very important.

The squad will be travelling by coach, rather than by plane...

I love travelling by coach, because you get to see some of Spain. It’s chance to take in the landscape of this marvellous country.

Are you worried that time is passing by and some players haven’t renewed their contracts. Could it affect the mood within the squad?

I don’t have any kind of problem with what you are talking about. The situation between players and their clubs is also changing. When a player is reaching the end of their contract, it is not as much of a concern as it was in previous years. The clubs are not as worried about it as they once were.

In the last 30 years, Madrid have won the Copa del Rey just three times. What can we deduce by that?

It’s an important competition for us. It’s not the most important - that’s the Champions League, but for the club crest and shirt we defend, we have to respect every competition we play and try to win as many as we can.

How are Courotis and Carvajal?

They have minor problems. They should be available for the Villarreal game. They will be rested tomorrow, as will Kroos, Alaba, Benzema, Vinicius and Mendy. The rest will travel and hopefully put in a good game.

Castilla players in the list

For tomorrow, we have Sergio Arribas, Nico Paz, Marvel and Álvaro Rodríguez - players who have been doing well with Castilla. Raúl is doing every good job, because the younger players are progressing very quickly. There are also others such as Mario Martín, Rafa Marín... The youth academy is producing players who could be useful for Real Madrid in the future.