LONDON: Chelsea on Monday confirmed the appointment of Carlo Ancelotti as their new manager on a three-year contract. Ancelotti, 49, will succeed Guus Hiddink, who stood down as interim coach at Stamford Bridge after Saturday’s FA Cup victory over Everton. Ancelotti, who has long been linked with the Chelsea post, left AC Milan by mutual consent on Sunday.

Former Champions League winner Ancelotti has agreed a three-year contract with the Blues, believed to be worth £6.5 million a year, and will officially take charge on July 1. A statement on the club’s website confirmed: “Carlo was the outstanding candidate for the job. He has proved over a long period his ability to build teams that challenged for, and have been successful in, major domestic and European competitions.”

Ancelotti’s appointment comes a year after the Italian first spoke to Roman Abramovich about the job. He wrote in his recent autobiography that when he met the Chelsea owner after former Blues boss Avram Grant was sacked, the Russian billionaire admitted he wanted a team with more ‘personality’. Ancelotti is attractive to Abramovich after winning two Champions League titles with Milan in 2003 and 2007 and now he will get the chance to fulfil Abram-ovich’s wish for a more entertaining team who can finally succeed in Europe’s elite club competition.