Mourinho returns – Jose Mourinho has agreed to return to Real Madrid 13 years after an acrimonious exit, stepping in amid a season marked by internal clashes, an early Champions League exit, and Barcelona’s surge toward the LaLiga title. The move has met vocal resistance from fo
Jose Mourinho is set to return to Real Madrid, 13 years after his acrimonious exit, with the agreement pushing him back toward the Bernabeu despite protests from Iker Casillas.
The former Chelsea and Manchester United manager. 63. is currently in charge of Benfica in Portugal and is moving into what Real Madrid’s season has already made clear: a crisis club environment.. A campaign that has included players fighting each other. an early Champions League exit. and Barcelona steaming ahead toward the LaLiga title is now about to meet its most headline-grabbing coaching change.
Casillas. a club legend who previously faced a direct clash of trust with Mourinho when he was dropped as No 1 goalkeeper during Mourinho’s earlier spell at Real. has been among the most outspoken objectors.. On X last week, Casillas wrote: ‘I have no problem with Mourinho,’ ‘I think he’s a great professional.. I just don’t want him at Real Madrid.. I believe other coaches would be better suited to manage the club I love.. That’s just my personal opinion.. Nothing more.’ The timing of that message adds extra heat. coming as the deal to bring Mourinho back is being framed as imminent.
Mourinho’s path to Madrid is tied to the Benfica finish line.. After Benfica completed their Portuguese league campaign with a comfortable 3-1 victory over Estoril. the club ended the season unbeaten in the top flight.. Mourinho then made his next steps sound deliberately unresolved. saying after the match that his ‘future should be decided this week.’ He added: ‘I need time.. I need space.. I need time to make my decision. ‘ and: ‘This week I think will be very important.’ He also said. ‘I don’t have a proposal from Real Madrid.. But to hide, to say there is nothing, I cannot do that.. There is something.. But not with me directly.’
What Mourinho was implying points to how the talks are being conducted: he hasn’t had conversations with Real Madrid directly, with his agent, Jorge Mendes, understood to be brokering the return.
The deal is believed to be on a two-year contract. with Mourinho expected to travel to Madrid to close it after Real’s final game of the season against Athletic Bilbao on Saturday.. A further complication sits inside the financial mechanics being discussed around the move: reports have claimed a clause allowing Real Madrid to pay a compensation fee of around £2.6m. active within 10 days of Benfica’s final game of the season.
The return is also being sold as more than a quick appointment.. Mourinho previously managed Real Madrid between 2010 and 2013, winning one LaLiga title, a Copa del Rey, and the Spanish Super Cup.. The record included numerous hard-fought battles with Barcelona. who were led by Pep Guardiola. but his Madrid story also ended with unfinished personal stakes: he lost three consecutive Champions League semi-finals with the club.. Even with the break of 13 years, the sense of history hangs over the new chapter.
Real Madrid’s immediate atmosphere, however, is already strained in ways that go beyond football results.. Xabi Alonso was sacked after just eight months earlier this season. with Arbeloa then promoted from his role with Real Madrid’s B-team.. Now Mourinho is inheriting a squad described as fractious. with mounting issues to manage. including a series of player-on-player scraps and rows.
Earlier this month. it was reported that midfielder Federico Valverde was taken to the hospital after an altercation with Aurelien Tchouameni—described as the second row in two days between the pair.. The dispute began after Valverde reportedly refused to shake Tchouameni’s hand, despite doing so with the rest of the group.. During training. the team captain then flew into increasingly forceful challenges against his rival. and the pair were drawn into the same team for a contest later in the session.. Valverde was then said to have implied that Tchouameni was lucky not to be facing him. before the situation became physical.. The account adds that Valverde insulted the Frenchman before he was struck; during the scrap. Valverde hit a table. causing a cut that bled and led him to briefly lose consciousness.. Teammates, including Tchouameni, were said to have been deeply concerned.
Other incidents reportedly added to the tension.. Alvaro Carreras and Antonio Rudiger were also involved in a physical altercation. further impacting the mood around a season that will end without a trophy.. On Thursday. Kylian Mbappe added another layer of controversy by claiming Arbeloa told him he is now Real Madrid’s ‘fourth choice’ striker.
Still, the club’s leadership is pushing back against the idea that everything has spun out of control.. President Perez has dismissed claims that Real Madrid has descended into chaos.. This week. the 79-year-old announced presidential elections in a rare press conference. after hitting out at perceived threats in the media. the standard of refereeing. and possible rivals he told to come forward and challenge him.
The pattern is stark across the same window: the return is being framed as a deal to be closed after Real’s match against Athletic Bilbao on Saturday. while the internal turbulence described—fights in training involving Valverde and Tchouameni. a second physical altercation involving Carreras and Rudiger. and an allegation around Mbappe’s role—arrives alongside Perez’s insistence that the club is not in chaos.
Mourinho’s Benfica contract runs until the summer of 2027. and the final push toward Madrid is now concentrated into the week after Real’s season ends—setting up a return that will be scrutinized not just for results. but for how quickly he can stop the kind of fractures that have already defined this campaign.
Jose Mourinho Real Madrid Iker Casillas Benfica Athletic Bilbao LaLiga Champions League Valverde Tchouameni Antonio Rudiger Alvaro Carreras Kylian Mbappe Florentino Perez
This is gonna be a disaster lol.
Wait Casillas is mad cause Mourinho left before? I thought they were cool. Also Barcelona winning again… not surprised.
Idk why people act like Mourinho is the answer. Like he just shows up and starts fights, then everyone shocked when the locker room is chaos. If players are fighting each other already, bringing in the guy who loves drama seems like a bad plan. And I’m pretty sure Casillas protests are more about politics than football, right?
Madrid really said “let’s restart the same arguments from 13 years ago” 😭 Mourinho coming back just to get booed. Casillas was dropped as keeper? I don’t even follow keeper stuff like that but that sounds petty. Meanwhile Barcelona steamrolling like always, so Mourinho walks into a losing season. This whole thing feels like it was decided on Twitter before it was decided on the pitch.