Tears and cheers in emotional farewell by Ancelotti and Modric at Real Madrid

MADRID (AP) — Real Madrid fans bid an emotional farewell to coach Carlo Ancelotti and midfielder Luka Modric — the club’s most decorated figures — in their La Liga finale on Saturday.

The 65-year-old Ancelotti is taking the Brazil job after winning 15 titles in his two stints with the club. The 39-year-old Modric is not returning after winning 28 titles in 13 seasons.

Ancelotti and Modric shed tears at a packed Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, where Madrid beat Real Sociedad 2-0 with a pair from Kylian Mbappé.

“When you win a Champions League, you don’t feel this kind of emotion, this is a very strong emotion,” Ancelotti said in a post-match ceremony. “I’m very happy and I leave very satisfied. It has been an honor and a pleasure to be part of this family and to enter the history of this club; this was the objective from day one and I have achieved it.”

Even club president Florentino Pérez cried during the ceremony.

The game stopped for a few minutes when Modric was substituted in the final minutes. Players from both sides gave a guard of honor for the veteran midfielder as he left the field.

“The moment that I didn't want to arrive has arrived,” Modric said. “But it's been a long journey, a wonderful journey."

Modric received a standing ovation and the crowd chanted his name.

Modric was the team captain on Saturday and hugged his teammates and then his wife and kids who waited by the sideline. He also hugged Toni Kroos, who left Madrid last season after they formed one of the greatest midfields in the club’s history.

A video was shown in the stadium with key moments by Modric. The midfielder will still play in the Club World Cup next month.

“It’s a very emotional day for me," Modric said. “In the end, where I cried the least was on the pitch. It was very difficult on the way to the stadium and when I entered the dressing room. There are no words to describe this tribute they have given me and I couldn’t even dream of it. I am very grateful and happy for everything that has happened to me in these almost thirteen years at Real Madrid.”

Modric helped Madrid win six European Cups, six Club World Cups, five European Super Cups, four Spanish leagues, two Copas del Rey and five Spanish Super Cups. He is one of only five players to have won six European Cups.

The Croatia international made 591 appearances for Madrid — eighth on the club’s all-time list — and scored 43 goals. He had been playing fewer minutes in recent seasons under Ancelotti.

Ancelotti is leaving after four mostly successful seasons in this stint, which ended on a down note as the club lost the Spanish league title and was eliminated in the Champions League.

He also coached the club from 2013-15. In total, he was in charge of Madrid in more than 350 matches and helped it win three Champions Leagues, three Club World Cups, two Spanish leagues, two Copas del Rey, three UEFA Super Cups and two Spanish Super Cups. The victory on Saturday gave Ancelotti 250 triumphs.

“It’s been a pleasure to coach this club,” he said. “It’s been unforgettable.”

Mbappé scored in the 38th and 83rd minutes to take his league-leading tally to 30, five more than Robert Lewandowski. He and Barcelona, the league champion, finish the season at Athletic Bilbao on Sunday.

Madrid had already secured second place.

It was also a farewell for Real Sociedad coach Imanol Alguacil, who is stepping down this summer after a mostly successful six-and-a-half-year stint in charge of the Basque Country club.

Referee Mario Melero López also was appearing in his final match.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Real Madrid's Luka Modric waves to the crow during a Spanish La Liga soccer match against Real Sociedad at Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid, Saturday, May 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Cesar Cebolla)

Real Madrid's head coach Carlo Ancelotti applauds prior to a Spanish La Liga soccer match against Real Sociedad at Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid, Saturday, May 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Cesar Cebolla)

Real Madrid's Luka Modric gestures during a Spanish La Liga soccer match against Real Sociedad at Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid, Saturday, May 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Cesar Cebolla)

Real Madrid's Luka Modric waves to the crow during a Spanish La Liga soccer match against Real Sociedad at Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid, Saturday, May 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Cesar Cebolla)

Real Madrid's head coach Carlo Ancelotti waves to the crow after a Spanish La Liga soccer match against Real Sociedad at Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid, Saturday, May 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Cesar Cebolla)

PIOMBINO DESE, Italy--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun 8, 2026--

Stevanato Group S.p.A. (NYSE: STVN), a leading global provider of drug containment, drug delivery, and diagnostic solutions for the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and life sciences industries, today introduced Deora™, a new proprietary pen injector platform targeting incretin-based therapies, as well as supporting other originator and biosimilar drug development programs.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260608096966/en/

Deora™ is a multi-use, fixed-dose pen injector featuring a simple pull-push mechanism for dose setting and delivery: the user pulls to set the dose, then pushes to inject. This intuitive sequence eliminates the need for manual dose selection, reducing common sources of use error and supporting consistent drug delivery across multiple administrations. The platform is compatible with standard 1.5 mL and 3 mL cartridges and accommodates fixed-dose volumes up to 0.75 mL.

“With Deora™, we are broadening our product offering in therapeutic areas experiencing strong global demand and favorable market momentum,” said Michele Monico, President of Drug Delivery Systems and In Vitro Diagnostics at Stevanato Group. "We believe there is space for a simple, multi-use device that enhances the patient experience while simultaneously reducing the pressure on supply chain scale-up. Our belief has been supported by early customer interest, and we are providing our pharmaceutical partners with evaluation units to support early-stage testing and development activities.”

The device architecture provides flexibility across multiple fixed-dose configurations while minimizing the need for design changes across variants. In addition, it is designed to integrate seamlessly into existing supply chains, enabling efficient industrialization and scalable manufacturing.

“Deora™ further expands Stevanato Group’s proprietary portfolio of drug delivery devices, providing a solution designed for multi-dose therapies requiring consistent administration and ease of use in a familiar pen format,” added Michele Monico. “Customers can now choose from different hand-held device platforms – Alina®, Aidaptus®, and Deora™ – to address a broad range of therapeutic needs.”

Deora™ leverages Stevanato Group’s established manufacturing capabilities, with production aligned to support future commercialization. Drawing on its end-to-end expertise across glass manufacturing, analytical services, and device engineering, Stevanato Group offers fully integrated solutions that can simplify development for pharmaceutical partners.

Together, these characteristics position Deora™ as a platform intended to support partners as they advance early development programs and prepare for future scale-up.

About Stevanato Group

Founded in 1949, Stevanato Group is a leading global provider of drug containment, drug delivery and diagnostic solutions to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and life sciences industries. The Group delivers an integrated, end-to-end portfolio of products, processes and services that address customer needs across the entire drug life cycle at each of the development, clinical and commercial stages. Stevanato Group’s core capabilities in scientific research and development, its commitment to technical innovation and its engineering excellence are central to its ability to offer value added solutions to clients. To learn more, visit: www.stevanatogroup.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release may include forward-looking statements. The words “strong”, “experiencing”, “believe”, “are providing”, “position”, “advance”, “intended”, “prepare”, “future”, and similar expressions (or their negative) identify certain of these forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are statements regarding the Company's intentions, beliefs or current expectations concerning, among other things, the investments the Company expects to receive, the expansion of manufacturing capacity, the Company’s plans regarding its presence in the U.S. market, business strategies, the Company’s capacity to meet future market demands and support preparedness for future public health emergencies, and results of operations. The forward-looking statements in this press release are based on numerous assumptions regarding the Company’s present and future business strategies and the environment in which the Company will operate in the future. Forward-looking statements involve inherent known and unknown risks, uncertainties and contingencies because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that may or may not occur in the future and may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Many of these risks and uncertainties relate to factors that are beyond the Company's ability to control or estimate precisely, such as future market conditions, currency fluctuations, the behavior of other market participants, the actions of regulators and other factors such as the Company's ability to continue to obtain financing to meet its liquidity needs, changes in the political, social and regulatory framework in which the Company operates or in economic or technological trends or conditions. Readers should therefore not place undue reliance on these statements, particularly not in connection with any contract or investment decision. Except as required by law, the company assumes no obligation to update any such forward-looking statements.

Deora™ is Stevanato Group’s multi-use, fixed-dose pen injector designed for subcutaneous drug delivery in therapies such as diabetes and weight management. Featuring an intuitive pull‑push mechanism, the device simplifies dose administration by eliminating the need for manual dose selection: users pull to set the dose and push to inject, supporting consistent delivery across multiple administrations. The platform accommodates fixed-dose volumes up to 0.75 mL and is compatible with standard 1.5 mL and 3 mL cartridges, offering flexibility across a range of therapeutic applications. Engineered with patient usability in mind, Deora™ provides tactile, visual, and audible feedback during operation, helping reduce common sources of use error. Its architecture is designed to integrate seamlessly into existing supply chains, enabling efficient industrialization and scalable manufacturing for pharmaceutical partners