Jose Mourinho has agreed to return to Real Madrid, 13 years on from his acrimonious exit.
Mourinho, who is currently manager at Benfica in his native Portugal, is making a controversial return to the Bernabeu – despite the protests of his former player and club legend Iker Casillas.
The former Chelsea and Manchester United manager, 63, steps into a crisis club after a season clouded by players fighting each other, an early Champions League exit, and Barcelona steaming to the LaLiga title.
One of the most vocal objectors has been Casillas, who was dropped as No 1 goalkeeper by Mourinho during his previous spell at Real.
‘I have no problem with Mourinho,’ Casillas wrote on X last week. ‘I think he’s a great professional. I just don’t want him at Real Madrid.
Jose Mourinho is set to return to Real Madrid – 13 years after his acrimonious exit
Iker Casillas, Sergio Ramos, Mourinho and Florentino Perez pose together in 2012
‘I believe other coaches would be better suited to manage the club I love. That’s just my personal opinion. Nothing more’
Mourinho is believed to have agreed to a two-year contract at Los Blancos, and he will travel to Madrid to close the deal after the club’s final game of the season against Athletic Bilbao on Saturday.
The news has broken after Benfica finished their Portuguese league campaign with a comfortable 3-1 victory over Estoril, meaning the club finished the season unbeaten in the top flight.
After the match, Mourinho made it clear that his ‘future should be decided this week’.
‘I need time. I need space. I need time to make my decision,’ Mourinho said. ‘This week I think will be very important.
‘I don’t have a proposal from Real Madrid. But to hide, to say there is nothing, I cannot do that. There is something. But not with me directly.’
What Mourinho was implying is that he hasn’t had conversations with Real Madrid directly, but rather his agent, Jorge Mendes, has been brokering the deal for his return.
Reports have claimed there is a clause in his contract that allows Real Madrid to pay a compensation fee of around £2.6m, which would be active within 10 days of Benfica’s final game of the season.
Mourinho previously managed Real Madrid between 2010 and 2013, leading the club to one LaLiga title, a Copa del Rey and the Spanish Super Cup. His time at the club provided numerous hard-fought battles with rivals Barcelona, who were led by Pep Guardiola.
Xabi Alonso was sacked after just eight months earlier this season, with Arbeloa then promoted from his role with Real Madrid’s B-team. Mourinho’s Benfica contract runs until the summer of 2027.
As revealed by Daily Mail Sport, 63-year-old Mourinho believes he has unfinished business at Madrid, where he lost three consecutive Champions League semi-finals.
Mourinho is inheriting a fractious environment and has a pile of mounting issues to resolve within the squad, including a series of player-on-player scraps and rows.
Earlier this month, it emerged that midfielder Federico Valverde was taken to the hospital following an altercation with Aurelien Tchouameni, the second row in two days between the pair.
Valverde reportedly refused to shake Tchouameni’s hand, despite doing so with the rest of the group. Then, in a training session, the team captain flew into a number of increasingly forceful challenges with his rival.
Drawn into the same team for a contest later in the session, Valverde was then said to have implied that Tchouameni was lucky not to be facing him, before things took a more physical turn.
Valverde is believed to have insulted the Frenchman before he was struck. As the pair scrapped, the former hit a table, causing a cut that bled and briefly lost consciousness, which sparked deep concern from teammates, including Tchouameni.
Alvaro Carreras and Antonio Rudiger were also reportedly involved in a physical altercation, further impacting the mood around the club in a season that will end without a trophy.
Kylian Mbappe caused further controversy on Thursday after claiming Arbeloa told him he is now Real Madrid’s ‘fourth choice’ striker.
However, despite a series of incidents, President Perez has dismissed claims that Real Madrid has descended into chaos.
The 79-year-old announced presidential elections in a rare press conference this week, after hitting out at perceived threats in the media, the standard of refereeing and possible rivals who he told to come forward and challenge him.
