"Vinicius' future? I'm tired of the topic but I'm not worried"

Having beaten Manchester City 2-3 on Tuesday in the Champions League, Real Madrid are back to Liga action as they take on Osasuna at the weekend. League leaders Madrid sit one point ahead of local rivals Atletico and two ahead of Barcelona, setting the scene for an exciting title race in the Spanish top flight this season. 

"The competition in La Liga is very high," said Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti during a pre-match press conference on Friday. "Atletico and Barcelona can fight for the title every year. Winning it twice in a row is not easy because of rivals like them." The 'Merengues' will be aiming to get three points in their visit to the Sadar to hold first place for at least another weekend. "The team must understand it is time to push, it would be wrong if we didn't tomorrow, especially with our rivals very close to us. It is a vital match," he added.

'Los Blancos' will be without five players against Osasuna on Saturday as defensive trio Alaba, Rudiger and Vazquez recently joined long-term absentees Carvajal and Militao on the sidelines due to injuries. That said, Ancelotti expects back already for Wednesday's return leg against the defending Premier League champions. "They are improving. They will continue with individual work until Monday and from Tuesday they will be available for the match against City, including Lucas Vazquez," he told reporters.

Vazquez's absence at the Etihad forced Ancelotti to sacrifice midfielder Valverde at right-back and the Uruguayan is set to cover the same role for the trip to Osasuna. "I think Valverde will continue in this position until Lucas Vazquez returns. Valverde, in this position, as in any other, contributes a lot. I liked his game against City, and he likes to play in that position. Tomorrow, we will continue with him," informed the Madrid head coach. 

Bellingham and Vinicius' future

Jude Bellingham was key to Real Madrid's victory over Pep Guardiola's men in the first leg of the play-offs as he clinched the win in stoppage-time. Despite being still relatively new at the club, Ancelotti sees the Englishman's future at the Bernabeu. "He (Bellingham) is very young and has not been at the club for long, but he will be one of the leaders of the squad in the future due to his character, personality, quality, seriousness and professionalism. He will be a significant part of the squad in the coming years," said the 65-year-old manager.

The Italian envisions the same for Brazilian star Vinicius Junior despite reports linking him to a move to Saudi Arabia. Having been asked to clarify whether the forward will stay in Spain, Ancelotti admitted that he was growing tired of repeating the same thing and insisted that Vinicius is 'happy' at the club, echoing the words used by the player himself, who recently reaffirmed his wish to stay at Real Madrid.

Ancelotti said: "I’m tired of this and it doesn’t worry me. I see him happy to be with us. There’s nothing new that he added weeks ago. I see the same Vini Jr. as always, with a lot of desire to do things well, and he did so in the last game. I think he will continue to do well because he is starting to get into good physical shape after his injuries. I see him very motivated because against City, he was under a lot of pressure, and he withstood it very well and made the difference. He wants to make history with this club and nothing more."