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Mourinho returns to Bernabéu
Real Madrid confirmed Jose Mourinho’s return as first team coach on Thursday, June 11, 13 years after his first spell ended, and the Portuguese coach signed a three-year deal.
The club said the appointment runs until June 30, 2029, with Mourinho officially joining on July 13 for the start of pre-season, and the BBC reported Real Madrid will begin work when the squad return for training on 13 July.
The announcement came after the departure of Álvaro Arbeloa on Tuesday, and Sky Sports said the path was cleared for Mourinho to be named as Real Madrid’s new manager by that exit.
Benfica, meanwhile, announced it was replacing Mourinho with former Fulham boss Marco Silva, and Sky Sports noted Mourinho will take five coaches with him to Real: Joao Tralhao, Pedro Machado, Antonio Dias, Roberto Merella, and Nuno Santos.
Perez, Benfica, and the deal
Florentino Perez, who was re-elected as president last Sunday, framed the move as a continuation of his mandate, saying, "We have won the elections and will continue working to keep winning titles," and the BBC added that Perez beat challenger Enrique Riquelme by picking up 65% of the votes.
Real Madrid said the board meeting on Thursday, June 11, chaired by Perez, agreed to appoint Mourinho as first team coach for the next three seasons, until June 30, 2029, while Sky Sports reported Benfica had previously stated Real Madrid would pay them £12.9m (€15m) in compensation.
The BBC reported Real Madrid paid Benfica £13m (15m euros) in compensation, and it also said Benfica agreed a deal to appoint former Fulham manager Marco Silva as Mourinho’s replacement.
In the same BBC account, Mourinho’s previous spell in Madrid began in 2010 and lasted three seasons, yielding a La Liga title, a Copa del Rey and a Spanish Super Cup, and it noted Mourinho’s return comes after Real Madrid failed to win a trophy in the past two seasons.
What Real Madrid face next
Real Madrid’s coaching change follows a season in which Xabi Alonso was sacked in January and Real exited the Champions League to Bayern Munich at the quarter-final stage, while Barcelona won the La Liga title, according to The Guardian.
The Guardian also said disharmony within the squad continued, with Fede Valverde taken to hospital to have stitches after a confrontation with teammate Aurélien Tchouaméni, and it added that Florentino Pérez made Mourinho his target to restore order to the dressing room and success on the pitch.
ESPN described two competing sensations around Mourinho’s return, including unfinished business from a third season that left Real 15 points behind Barcelona and ended after losing to Atlético Madrid in the Copa del Rey final, and it warned that this is a different Mourinho and a different Real Madrid.
With Mourinho set to start on July 13 and the contract running until June 30, 2029, the stakes in the sources center on whether he can deliver results after Real’s two-year trophy drought, as the BBC said Real parted ways with Xabi Alonso in January before Álvaro Arbeloa led them through to the end of the campaign.
