Key Takeaways
- Jose Mourinho leads the race to become the next Real Madrid manager.
- Club president Florentino Perez supports the move despite recent criticism of Vinicius Jr.
- Mourinho has a release clause in his Benfica contract allowing him to join Los Blancos.
Real Madrid could welcome Jose Mourinho back to the Santiago Bernabeu this summer. The Portuguese manager is now the top choice to replace Alvaro Arbeloa. Arbeloa is expected to leave his post at the end of the current season.
Mourinho currently works as the head coach of Benfica in Portugal. He still has one year remaining on his deal with the Lisbon club. However, his contract contains a special clause. This clause allows him to leave if Real Madrid make an offer.
Several other managers were linked with the job. These include Jurgen Klopp, Mauricio Pochettino, Didier Deschamps and Unai Emery. None of these names gained full support from the club’s leadership.
Florentino Perez, the Real Madrid president, wants Mourinho to return. He first hired the Portuguese coach in 2009. At that time, he wanted to stop Pep Guardiola’s dominant Barcelona side. Now, Perez is pushing for a reunion. He will make the final decision on the new manager. Some people inside the club do not agree with this choice.
The relationship between Mourinho and Real Madrid became tense in February. This happened after a Champions League match between Benfica and Real Madrid. During that game, Benfica player Gianluca Prestianni made racist comments towards Vinicius Junior. After the match, Mourinho criticised how Vinicius celebrated his goal. He suggested the celebration caused some crowd trouble.
Thibaut Courtois is the Real Madrid goalkeeper. He called Mourinho’s words ‘disappointing’. This incident could create problems if Mourinho becomes the new manager.