“He signed a contract with a robot.” The president of Brazil judges Ancelotti. What a shame

Criticism of Brazil’s coach Carlo Ancelotti intensified after his massive exit from the 2026 World Cup in the round of 16 reached the country’s highest authority, as President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva joined the ranks of critics with unprecedentedly harsh statements.

The Brazilian president’s comments came during an official visit to Sao Paulo’s Maua Institute of Technology, where he took the opportunity to lob criticism and ridicule at the Italian coach, who will continue in his role until the 2030 World Cup finals.

Ancelotti took charge of the Seleção with the aim of returning the World Cup title that had been missing from Brazil’s coffers since 2002, but a lackluster performance by the most World Cup-winning side ended in an early shock to Norway.

The robot is fiercer than our players

During his tour of the Institute of Technology, President Lula expressed great admiration for the student project, an advanced model of a “robot” designed with modern technology, which will be used as an excuse to criticize Ancelotti in front of an audience.

Lula da Silva said in a sarcastic tone. “I will show this robot to Ancelotti. This guy designed a robot with real ferocity. He is like Mbappe or Haaland. This robot hits the ball well. Ancelotti can sign him and I’m sure this robot will bring us the World Cup.”

The president of Brazil added. “Do you know who Ancelotti is? He is the coach of our national team, the man who went to the World Cup with a huge delegation of dozens of people, and then only one player returned from there on the team’s official plane. What a shame really. Only one player returned home.”

Danilo is alone on the plane

President Lula’s clear reference was to the lone return of right-back Danilo to Brazil on the national team’s official plane after the disappointment of an early exit from the World Cup, while the rest of the delegation, including players and technical staff, opted to head straight to other countries to spend their summer holidays away from the wrath of Brazilian fans.

It is not the first time Brazil’s president has slammed Ancelotti’s management of the national team, having previously mocked the decision to call up star Neymar da Silva for the World Cup, describing him as “the first player in history to work from home” in reference to his declining form and limited participation.

Pressure is mounting on the Italian coach

Ancelotti, who has a history full of titles at club level, faces the toughest period of his coaching career at the national team as popular and media calls mount for his immediate sacking, even though his contract will be extended until the 2030 World Cup, which is scheduled to be held in South America.