Carlo Ancelotti leaves AC Milan

Carlo Ancelotti, the man who Roman Abramovich has targeted as the next manager of Chelsea, has resigned from AC Milan, setting up a swift coronation for the 49-year-old Italian at Stamford Bridge.

Ancelotti confirmed that he was leaving the San Siro club after they beat Fiorentina 2-0 in the last Serie A game of the season, confirming third spot in the Italian league and Champions League qualification.

If he does take the Chelsea job he will be succeeding Guus Hiddink, who signed off as interim manager of the west London club with a 2-1 FA Cup Final win over Everton on Saturday.

WHAT THEY ARE SAYING
Kevin McCarra, the Guardian: "To Abramovich Ancelotti represents the sophistication and style that have largely been lacking in Chelsea's agonised efforts to seize the Champions League. The Russian would have been taking note of, for instance, the composed dismantling of Manchester United in a 3–0 win at San Siro in the 2007 semi-final. It was a triumph founded on acute judgment and technique more than any onslaught. Over the course of an evening, the planning allowed for Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo to be crowded out while Milan still enjoyed scope to attack devastatingly."

Matt Hughes, the Times: "Ancelotti has agreed a three-year contract worth £6.5m a year and will start work on July 1. He will become the highest-paid manager in the Barclays Premier League, but in global terms his salary is dwarfed by the £10m a year that José Mourinho is paid by Inter Milan. Ancelotti would like to bring Filippo Galli, the former Milan defender and his assistant, to Stamford Bridge as his No 2, but the Italian club want him to stay and work under Leonardo, the former Brazil midfield player who will succeed Ancelotti at the San Siro."

Martin Samuel, Daily Mail: "Ancelotti departed having taken Milan into the Champions League automatically - defeat against Fiorentina would have meant prequalifying, like Arsenal - but with the distinct impression his time was up. The fans sang his name, once, which is not much of a return for a man who won the Champions League twice and the Serie A title, along with four other trophies, and later he admitted that the club had told him it was time to go." ·