Elche's Omar Mascarell not looking for revenge on Ancelotti or Madrid | OneFootball

Elche midfielder Omar Mascarell insists he bears no grudge against Carlo Ancelotti for showing him the door at Real Madrid back in 2014.

Mascarell made his one and only senior appearance for Los Blancos under José Mourinho on the final day of the 2012/13 season, replacing Mesut Özil late on against Osasuna.

Ancelotti would replace Mourinho that summer, and a year later Mascarell found himself sent on loan to Derby County.

He would subsequently spend time on loan at Sporting Gijón, before moving to Germany where he was on the books at Eintracht Frankfurt and then Schalke.

The 28-year-old returned to Spain at the start of the current season, and Saturday will mark the first time he has faced the club where he spent his formative professional years.

Speaking to AS ahead of the game at the Estadio Martínez Valero, Mascarell denied blaming Ancelotti for his failure to succeed at the Santiago Bernabéu.

“Not at all. I saw the decision as logical because I was very young,” the defensive midfielder said.

“The best thing was to experiment and learn. It was good for me to go through England, Sporting and then make a career in Germany, where I grew a lot.”

Mascarell, who helped Frankfurt win the DFB Pokal in 2018, has become a fixture in the Elche engine room, starting seven of their nine LaLiga games to date.