Carlo Ancelotti seals 'Grand Slam' of top-flight titles as Real Madrid clinch La Liga

Carlo Ancelotti has broken new ground as the first manager to win the top-flight league title in Italy, England, France, Germany and Spain completing a so-called Grand Slam of major titles.

Veteran Italian manager Carlo Ancelotti has become the first man to guide clubs to league titles in all five of Europe's major leagues.

Ancelotti returned to Real Madrid before the start of the 2021/22 season, replacing a departing Zinedine Zidane.

Having failed to win La Liga at the Bernabeu between 2013 and 2015, Ancelotti completed the feat when his side saw off Espanyol 4-0 to confirm Real Madrid's 35th Spanish league title on Saturday evening.

Carlo Ancelotti completes unfinished business

The result moved Real Madrid 17 points clear of second-placed Sevilla with four games left to play for both sides.

Beginning his coaching career as a national team assistant, Ancelotti was part of the technical team behind Italy's run to the 1994 World Cup final but since departing that role served exclusively as a manager in Europe's top five leagues.

He won his first league title while in charge of AC Milan, guiding them to the 2003/4 Serie A title. That triumph remains the only league win he has achieved in his home country.

Ancelotti won the English Premier League with Chelsea in 2009/10 as part of a league and cup double for the Blues.

His third league triumph would come in France with Ligue 1 bullies Paris Saint-Germain in the 2012/13 season.

Ancelotti's first stint at Real Madrid yielded five major trophies but he was unable to break the Barcelona stranglehold on the La Liga trophy before departing the Bernabeu in 2015.

A short stint at Bayern Munich followed for Ancelotti as he replaced Pep Guardiola in the hot seat at the German Super Club.

Ancelotti would guide Bayern to the league title in 2017 but missteps in the next season's Champions League saw him dismissed before the end of the year.

Carlo Ancelotti, Thomas Tuchel - Chelsea vs Real Madrid

Back in the big time

It seemed to some that Ancelotti might be sliding away from elite management with subsequent appointments at Napoli and then Everton.

🤝 Club president Florentino Pérez congratulated the team on its 35th @LaLigaEN title!#RealMadrid | #CAMPEON35 pic.twitter.com/uUOiuA3eJj

— Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) May 1, 2022

However, the 62-year-old stepped back into the big time when he agreed a deal to return to Real Madrid.

He has now completed a feat that no other manager can lay claim to and there could bag another unique achievement before the season is up.

If Real Madrid can overturn a first leg deficit in the Champions League semi-final and go on to lift the famous trophy, Ancelotti will become the only man to win the Europe's top trophy four times as a manager.