When Everton replaced Marco Silva with Carlo Ancelotti in December 2019, the rest of the Premier League were put on red alert.
Carlo Ancelotti, the serial Champions League winner, had just left Serie A giants Napoli and was regarded as one of the best managers in the world.
Ancelotti guided Everton well clear of relegation and to a 12th-place finish before breaking the top 10 a year later.
Ancelotti struck an unusual relationship with Duncan Ferguson, who became his right-hand man alongside Davide Ancelotti.
The Italian, though, ultimately cut short his career on Merseyside when Real Madrid came calling during the summer of 2021.
One of his most memorable off-the-field moments came during a press conference when a reporter asked about Luke Garbutt’s future.
Ancelotti admitted he didn’t know who he was, and now Garbutt has shared how he truly felt about that infamous comment.
Photo by Laurence Griffiths - The FA/The FA via Getty Images
Photo by Laurence Griffiths – The FA/The FA via Getty Images
Former Everton player Luke Garbutt shares how he felt about that infamous Carlo Ancelotti moment
Luke Garbutt sat down with Toffee TV this week and revealed that he found the funny side of Ancelotti’s comment.
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“As soon as it happened, seven or eight of my mates straight away on the WhatsApp… taking the p—,” Garbutt explained.
“When I first reacted to it, I was like ‘oof, bit heavy that’, but then I kind of grew to think it was like hilarious, do you know what I mean, it was quite funny.
“And I just took it as a bit of banter really, to be honest. He wouldn’t have a clue who I was because I was out on loan, I wasn’t part of the plans. He’s not going to be looking down the list and going who’s this… it’s Carlo Ancelotti, he’s won the Champions League God knows how many times.”
🗣️| “When I first reacted to it, I was like, ‘Oh, a bit heavy, that.’ But then I kind of grew to think it was hilarious – it was quite funny.”
Baz sat down with Luke Garbutt, who gave us his thoughts on the infamous 'Who?! Meme' From Carlo Ancleotti. 😂👀
Watch the full… pic.twitter.com/Gg5eAqzIzv
— 𝐓𝐎𝐅𝐅𝐄𝐄 𝐓𝐕 (@ToffeeTVEFC) May 19, 2025
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Garbutt now in League Two
Garbutt is now plying his trade in League Two with Salford City, who just missed out on the play-offs this season.
The 31-year-old was a mainstay of the defence and registered a commendable seven goal involvements from left-back.
Garbutt has enjoyed a successful career in the EFL, making over a century of appearances in both League One and League Two.
He’s also played 58 times in the Championship, so whilst he hasn’t quite reached the level that was perhaps expected of him when he was coming through at Everton, his career is certainly nothing to be sniffed at.