Jose Mourinho will be announced as the new Real Madrid manager after a long meeting last night.
Jose Mourinho is set to become the new Real Madrid manager on Wednesday, but fans might have to wait a bit before he’s officially introduced.
The team is currently without a head coach after Alvaro Arbeloa left on Tuesday, just five months after taking over from Xabi Alonso.
Florentino Perez promised to bring Mourinho back if he won the club’s presidential election. He did, beating Enrique Riquelme with 65% of the vote on Sunday.
Benfica confirmed that Real Madrid has contacted them about paying Mourinho’s €15 million release clause. Mourinho already agreed to return, and the official announcement should come midweek.
Football journalist Fabrizio Romano took to social media to say there’s an agreement, but Mourinho won’t do any press or fan events until July. He shared: “Initial meeting at Real Madrid took place last night with management team and José Mourinho involved. Long meeting to discuss players and plans. Mourinho expected to be introduced to the press and fans in July — not now.”
Mourinho’s agent, Jorge Mendes, was seen meeting Real Madrid’s director José Ángel Sánchez and chief scout Juni Calafat in the city on Tuesday evening.
Mourinho, 63, previously managed Real Madrid from 2010 to 2013, where he had famous battles with Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona. During that time, he won a league title, the Copa del Rey, and reached three Champions League semifinals. Since then, he has managed Chelsea (twice), Manchester United, Tottenham, Roma, Fenerbahce, and Benfica.
Bringing Mourinho back was a big part of Perez’s election campaign. Perez also tried to sign defenders Ibrahima Konaté and Denzel Dumfries, and made a €150 million offer for Julian Alvarez from rival Atlético Madrid, but it was turned down.
Mourinho is expected to have more control at Real Madrid than Arbeloa did, especially when it comes to transfers. It’s said he gave Perez a list of 10 requests during their first talks.