Ancelotti makes history by winning 15 titles with Real Madrid

It is Madrid's second title of the season following their UEFA Super Cup triumph over Atalanta in August, a welcome boost after what coach Carlo Ancelotti admitted had been a difficult period.

"In this part of the season I was a bit anxious because I didn't like the team, honestly, but this will change in 2025 I'm sure," said Ancelotti. "It's important for us to get to Christmas alive. If we think about the team after the defeat by Milan (in the Champions League on November 5), I think we've grown a lot and that gives us confidence for 2025."

Ancelotti won his 15th trophy as Madrid coach, moving him past Miguel Munoz for the most in the club's history. "It's a nice moment. It's an honour for me. Madrid are the club that everybody wants to coach because they're the best club in the world," said Ancelotti.

"It's easier than winning them in other places because you have a great team and fanbase," he concluded. 

This was the first edition of the FIFA-backed Intercontinental Cup, which broadly maintains the previous format of the Club World Cup and features the six continental champions.

The latter is being expanded to include 32 teams in 2025 and will now be played every four years. A past version of the Intercontinental Cup ran from 1960 to 2004 involving the champions of Europe and South America. Madrid won that competition three times and then lifted the Club World Cup on a record five occasions.