Carlo Ancelotti told Brazil star without a cap since 2023 he'd 'win the Ballon d'Or' ahead of first squad reveal

Newly-appointed Brazil manager Carlo Ancelotti could be about to bring a player back to the national setup after two years away.

Ancelotti was confirmed as Brazil's next manager on Monday, with the Italian commencing his role after the end of the 2024/25 La Liga season with Real Madrid.

The 65-year-old's future has looked in severe doubt ever since Real were knocked out of the Champions League at the quarter-final stage by Arsenal last month.

But reports linking him with the Brazil role go back much further, with Selecao losing to Uruguay onpenaltiesin the Copa America quarter-finals next summer.

Coach Dorival Junior remained in charge after that shock exit, but was sacked in March after Brazil suffered a 4-1 defeat to Argentina in World Cup qualifying.

The decision to appoint Ancelotti will add another layer of intrigue to the build-up for the 2026 World Cup, with the Italian set to become the second active international manager to win the Champions League after England's Thomas Tuchel.

One player who will surely be pleased with the new appointment is Tottenham forward Richarlison, who is one of several Brazil players to have worked under Ancelotti at club level.

The striker hasn't played for the Selecao since October 2023, though was included in the squad for friendly matches against Spain and England last March.

Ancelotti managed Richarlison for 18 months at Everton between 2019 and 2021, and the Brazilian scored 12 goals in all competitions in his manager's sole full season at Goodison Park.

Ancelotti would go on to state that Richarlison was a 'brilliant striker' but needed to be more consistent in front of goal if he was going to achieve greater success.

Speaking in 2020, the 28-year-old revealed that his manager gave him even greater praise behind-the-scenes.

He told Globo Esporte: "With Ancelotti, a guy who won everything, he's always telling me some story, correcting me, guiding me. That's what makes a player evolve.

"Ancelotti himself already has said that I'm among the 10 best strikers he has coached, and that's an honour for me. It motivated me a lot, I want to improve even more.

"He already told me that I'll win the Golden Ball (Ballon d'Or), that I'll win several championships. I'll trust the man's word. Now I just need to improve, working hard in training, so I can continue to evolve."

Ancelotti has told Richarlison that he’s going to win the Ballon d’Or 🏆 pic.twitter.com/vg3xzZ0jht

— ESPN UK (@ESPNUK) November 11, 2020

Richarlison would go on to play a key role in keeping Everton in the Premier League in the season that followed Ancelotti's exit, scoring 10 goals in 30 league games.

He then moved to Tottenham for a fee of £60 million in the summer of 2022 and, despite finding form last season with 12 goals in all competitions, has seen his spell at the club blighted by injury issues.