Mourinho

Real Madrid president Florentino Perez says he will bring Jose Mourinho back as manager if he wins Sunday’s election.

Jose ‌Mourinho will return to manage Real Madrid if Florentino Perez wins ⁠the club’s presidential ⁠election on Sunday, the sitting president has declared as he campaigns for another term at the helm of the La Liga ⁠club.

Perez, facing renewable energy entrepreneur Enrique Riquelme in the club’s first contested election in 20 years, delivered the campaign announcement on his social media ⁠channels with a short video featuring Mourinho simply saying “Yes!”

The clip followed the slogan “So MOUch history to be made”, a not-so-subtle nod to the Portuguese coach who guided Real to a record La Liga points tally in 2012, but last lifted ‌a league title with Chelsea in 2015.

The move for Mourinho follows a disappointing domestic campaign in which Barcelona secured back-to-back league titles.

Real, 15-time Champions League winners, have also exited Europe’s top club competition at the quarterfinal stage in the last two seasons, with the absence of major silverware prompting Perez to call elections.

Perez’s announcement landed while Riquelme was ⁠appearing on Spanish television programme El Hormiguero, in which he ⁠said Manchester City midfielder and Spain captain Rodri would be his first signing if elected.

He said he would also target Manchester City striker Erling Haaland, and that former forward and ⁠club great Raul would be his sports director.

Since leaving Chelsea, Mourinho’s trophy haul has been more modest. He ⁠won the League Cup and Europa League with ⁠Manchester United, and later led AS Roma to the third-tier Conference League title.

His managerial road has also taken him to Tottenham Hotspur, Fenerbahce and Benfica, where he was under contract until ‌June 2027 and had said the Portuguese club had proposed a renewal.

While pundits argue that the game has moved beyond Mourinho’s pragmatic style, Perez appears ‌to ‌see him as the manager to restore discipline and edge to a squad featuring Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Jr and Jude Bellingham.

Mourinho previously stated that no contact had been made with Real, despite heavy reports linking him with a return to the Bernabeu.

Should Perez win the election, Mourinho would return to the club 13 years after his departure in 2013.

Mourinho first joined Real Madrid in 2010, spending three seasons at the club.

During his tenure, he won one La Liga title, a Copa del Rey and a Spanish Super Cup.

Xabi Alonso was sacked by Real in January, in his first season in charge of the Madrid club, while Alvaro Arbeloa carried the team to the end of the season as interim coach.

Mourinho was seen speaking with Vinicius after he walked off the pitch following the interaction with Prestianni.

But it was Mourinho’s post-match comments that were the most shocking.

While publicly backing his player Prestianni, Mourinho suggested Vinicius had incited tensions through his celebration in front of the home support.

“You score a goal from another world, why celebrate like that?” Mourinho said.

“The same thing always happens in so many stadiums. In how many states has this happened? In how many stadiums? How many? How many?

“He’s an out of this world player, I love him. Vinicius tells me one thing and Prestianni tells me another. I want to be balanced.”

The remarks sparked widespread criticism, with many accusing Mourinho of shifting attention away from the racism allegations and placing responsibility on the victim instead.

In addition to expressing his belief that Vinicius had been disrespectful with his goal celebration, he pointed to the club’s legendary striker Eusebio as proof that Benfica are not a racist club.

Asked if he felt Vinicius incited the crowd, Mourinho said: “Yes. I believe so.

“It should be the crazy moment of the game, an amazing goal. Unfortunately [he was] not just happy to score that astonishing goal. When you score a goal like that, you celebrate in a respectful way.”

He added: “When he was arguing about racism, I told him the biggest person in the history of this club [Eusebio] was black.

“This club, the last thing that it is, is racist. They [Vinicius and Prestianni] told me different things. But I don’t believe in one or another. I want to be an independent.”

Jose Mourinho completed an unbeaten league season with Benfica but had to settle for third place in the Portuguese top-flight.

Benfica beat Estoril 3-1 in their final match of the campaign as they ended their undefeated Primeira Liga campaign with 23 wins, 11 draws and no defeats.

However, they finished on 80 points – eight behind champions Porto and two behind second-placed Sporting.

The victory against Estoril could be Mourinho’s final game in charge of Benfica as he is in final negotiations to become Real Madrid manager, 13 years after his first spell at the Bernabeu.

The 63-year-old joined Portuguese side Benfica as manager on a two-year contract last September, but is wanted by Real president Florentino Perez.

This is not the first time Benfica have gone a league season unbeaten and ended up trophyless.

In 1977-78, Porto drew two games fewer and pipped them to the league title on goal difference.

Mourinho’s Benfica have join FC Sheriff in Moldova (2024-25) and Serbian side Red Star Belgrade (2007-08) as the only European sides this century to miss out on a league title despite going an entire season without losing.

Arbeloa has also faced criticism from France striker Kylian Mbappe after he was left out of the starting line-up for Los Blancos’ 2-0 win over Real Oviedo.

Mbappe had missed his side’s two previous games, including last weekend’s El Clasico which Barcelona won to secure the league title, with a thigh injury and was whistled by his own fans when he came on.

The World Cup winner has faced scrutiny over his commitment to the club in recent weeks while an online petition calling for ‘Mbappe Out’ attracted tens of millions of signatures.

But the manager played down the incident on Saturday.

“I’ve just bumped into him, I told him to stay calm. I understand that these kinds of things make headlines, but it’s something much more normal than you think,” Arbeloa said.

“I used to be a player, I know what they can feel in these situations – playing every day, then playing less or not at all.

“I totally understand that Kylian wasn’t happy about not playing on Thursday, and I like that.

“I wouldn’t understand it if he didn’t want to play. My relationship with him remains the same.”

Bayern Munich are keen on Aston Villa‘s Morgan Rogers, Curtis Jones is preparing to leave Liverpool this summer, and Real Madrid are considering appointing former manager Jose Mourinho.

Aston Villa‘s Morgan Rogers is a target for Bayern Munich, who have joined Chelsea and Manchester United in wanting the 23-year-old England forward. (Football Insider), external

England midfielder Curtis Jones, 25, is preparing to leave Liverpool this summer, with Aston Villa ready to step up their interest. (Teamtalk), external

Manchester City continue to prioritise a move for Newcastle United‘s England defender Tino Livramento, 23, but are also looking at alternatives. (Teamtalk), external

Real Madrid are considering appointing former manager Jose Mourinho, who is in charge of Benfica. (Record – in Portuguese), external

Real Madrid will make a decision on manager Alvaro Arbeloa’s future at the end of the season. (Marca – in Spanish), external

Real Madrid are planning a major overhaul of their squad in the summer, with France midfielder Eduardo Camavinga, 23, possibly leaving. (Sport – in Spanish), external

Coventry City’s promotion to the Premier League means the loan move of Nigeria midfielder Frank Onyeka, 28, from Brentford will become permanent. (Talksport), external

Lorient are considering former Lens and Southampton boss Will Still as a candidate to become manager. (L’Equipe – in French), external

Napoli president Aurelio de Laurentiis has brought forward a meeting with manager Antonio Conte to discuss his future amid reports linking him with the Italy team. (Corriere dello Sport – in Italian), external