Published On 4/28/2026
Press reports close to “The Athletic” revealed that Florentino Perez, president of Real Madrid, prefers to sign a contract with Portuguese coach Jose Mourinho to take over the position of technical director, succeeding Spaniard Alvaro Arbeloa.
According to informed sources, the decision to choose the new coach is led directly by Perez, unlike what happened when Alonso was appointed, when general manager Jose Angel Sanchez played a major role in the process, before he received the approval of the club president.
Read also
list of 2 itemsend of list
Perez seeks to rebuild the team project, after two consecutive seasons without achieving major titles, such as the Spanish League, the Champions League, or the King’s Cup.
Mourinho, who previously coached Real Madrid between 2010 and 2013, has the support of the club president to return again to the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, where he achieved 3 titles during his first term, most notably the Spanish League in the 2011-2012 season with a record score of points.
However, his potential return does not enjoy consensus within the club, as some voices still oppose the idea, especially because of the controversy he raised during his previous period, including his disagreements with then-team captain Iker Casillas.
Mourinho was also subjected to criticism this season, after his statements regarding the incident of Brazilian Vinicius Junior being subjected to abuse during a Champions League match, as he considered that the player may have contributed to inflaming the situation, which sparked widespread controversy.
Mourinho is currently under a contract with Benfica until June 2027, with a penalty clause allowing the contract to be terminated for about 3 million euros within a specific period after the end of the season.
These developments come in the context of the Real Madrid administration’s tendency in recent years to bring back coaches who had previously worked with the team, as happened with Zinedine Zidane and Carlo Ancelotti.
Other names have also been proposed within the club, including United States national team coach Mauricio Pochettino, France coach Didier Deschamps, in addition to German Jurgen Klopp, who currently holds a management position in the Red Bull Group.
Arbeloa, the current coach of Real Madrid, took over the team’s training last January, succeeding the sacked coach, Xabi Alonso, but he is expected to leave at the end of the current season, in light of the decline in the team’s results.
