Former Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho has emerged as he favourite to take over the job again this summer, with Alvaro Arbeloa expected to depart at the end of the season. The Benfica manager left the club in 2013, and is currently in charge of Benfica, where he has a year left on his contract.
It was revealed in the last month that Mourinho does have a clause in his contract that would allow him to leave the Estadio da Luz for Los Blancos though, and he is reportedly interested in the move. Until this point, the names of Jurgen Klopp, Mauricio Pochettino, Didier Deschamps and Unai Emery have all emerged, but none have been consensus candidates.
President Florentino Perez keen on Mourinho renunion
President Florentino Perez appointed Mourinho back in 2009 in a bid to halt Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona, and now The Athletic report that he is once again the preferred choice of the Real Madrid chief. They say that Perez will have the majority of the say in the decision over who will replace Arbeloa, and he is the main supporter of the idea to reunite with Mourinho. It is said there are those within the club that are opposed to the idea.
Mourinho’s criticism of Vinicius Junior
The most recent interaction between Mourinho and Real Madrid was in February, as Benfica met Los Blancos in the Champions League Round of 16, a tie defined by racist abuse from Gianluca Prestianni towards Vinicius Junior. After the game, Mourinho criticised the Real Madrid star for his goal celebration, implying that he had provoked some of the abuse from the crowd.
After the incident, Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois described Mourinho’s comments on the matter as ‘disappointing’. If Mourinho does come back to the Santiago Bernabeu, it will certainly be one of the main talking points.
