Appointment may have come as a surprise to many observers but Mourinho’s name had been circulating within Madrid’s leadership since December
Jose Mourinho is back at Real Madrid.
Thirteen years after leaving the club amid tensions with senior players and sections of the dressing room, the Portuguese has been handed a three-year contract and tasked with restoring stability after one of the most turbulent seasons of Florentino Perez’s presidency.
The Portuguese’s appointment follows a campaign that unravelled quickly for Madrid after the optimism surrounding the arrival of Xabi Alonso last summer. The club had hoped the former midfielder would usher in a new era but he lasted barely seven months before being dismissed in January.
His replacement, Alvaro Arbeloa, was only a stopgap. Madrid suffered an early Copa del Rey exit against second-division side Albacete. They then fell out of contention in La Liga and were eliminated by Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarter-finals, after which Perez met with the team in the dressing room and described the season as an intolerable failure.
👋 Welcome, Mourinho 👋 pic.twitter.com/RuuSZhTBvI
— Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) June 11, 2026
Behind the scenes, there were dressing-room tensions that made it out to the media. The situation reached a peak when a clash between Aurelien Tchouameni and Federico Valverde led to a physical confrontation that put the Uruguayan in hospital. Both players were fined €500,000 each, a combined €1m.
Perez believed the club had lost control of their internal environment, which led to the quest for an enforcer like Mourinho.
Mourinho’s appointment may have come as a surprise to many observers but his name had been circulating within Madrid’s leadership since December. According to people close to the club, Perez raised the possibility of bringing Mourinho back after things began to fall apart with Alonso.
At the time, however, the move appeared unrealistic. Mourinho had only recently returned to Benfica, where he began his coaching career, and was under contract until 2027.
Even so, Perez remained attracted to the idea. Few managers have left a stronger impression on him. People familiar with the relationship between the president and the coach have said that Mourinho is one of the managers Perez has respected most during his decades in charge at Madrid.
👏👏👏 pic.twitter.com/GSRaStyFog
— Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) June 11, 2026
The reasons are partly historical. Mourinho inherited a Madrid side struggling to compete with Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona and immediately changed the balance of power. He won the Copa del Rey in his first season, claimed the 2011-12 league title with a record 100 points and 121 goals, and consistently took Madrid deep into the Champions League.
He didn’t win the Champions League during his tenure but many at the club see this period under him as the foundation for the successes that followed under Carlo Ancelotti and Zinedine Zidane.
His legacy was important and the driving force behind the appointment. Madrid had other options though. Mauricio Pochettino was discussed internally. There was also talk of bringing in Didier Deschamps and Unai Emery. A particularly resounding name was Jurgen Klopp, but there were never formal negotiations for the former Liverpool coach.
Despite his historic interest in coaching Madrid, the German remained committed to his executive role within the Red Bull football group.
🎞️ And the LaLiga goal of the season goes to… @10ArdaGuler! pic.twitter.com/lNCAMVVTTg
— Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) June 4, 2026
However, Perez believed Madrid’s biggest issue was not so much tactics as authority, and none of those options were felt to command as much as authority as Mourinho. His strongest qualification for the job was his ability to re-establish discipline and accountability within a fractured dressing room.
As tensions between players became increasingly visible at the club, senior figures concluded that only a manager with Mourinho’s personality and experience could quickly change the atmosphere.
However, one major hitch was the presidential election campaign, where Perez was challenged by rival candidate Enrique Riquelme. Riquelme was against Mourinho’s appointment, and he attempted to build support with ambitious promises about hiring Klopp and making high-profile signings such as Manchester City duo Erling Haaland and Rodri.
Meanwhile, Perez’s team publicised Mourinho return should he secure another term. Benfica subsequently confirmed that Madrid had informed them of their intention to trigger Mourinho’s €15m release clause once the election process concluded.
Perez’s victory removed the final obstacle and within days, Mourinho travelled to Madrid to complete formalities before the club officially confirmed his appointment.
