Carlo Ancelotti is swapping Real Madrid for Brazil in one of the biggest moves in world soccer. The problem is, neither he, nor Madrid, want to talk about it.
As coaching switches go, they don't come any bigger than this.
But when news broke Monday that Ancelotti was leaving the sport's the most successful and iconic club team to take charge of its most successful and iconic national team, there was an awkward silence.
Madrid chose to ignore the announcement by the Brazilian soccer federation and was still to publicly acknowledge it 24 hours later.
There was silence, too, from Ancelotti, who didn't even provide a quote for his new employer when it published its official statement.