Mourinho returns to Real Madrid: club sets the date for the official announcement
Real Madrid has decided to reappoint José Mourinho as head coach, according to multiple sources cited by ESPN, with the date of the official announcement already scheduled internally. The deal would reunite a 63-year-old coach with a club he last led more than a decade ago.
Mourinho coached Madrid between 2010 and 2013, winning one La Liga title and one Copa del Rey across three seasons. His departure in 2013 was marked by tensions in the dressing room and a series of bitter Clásicos against Pep Guardiola's Barcelona, but Florentino Pérez has long maintained a personal closeness with the Portuguese.
The decision comes against the backdrop of another disappointing end to the campaign. Madrid was eliminated earlier than expected in the Champions League and finished behind FC Barcelona in La Liga, prompting Pérez to look outside the existing technical structure for a reset.
Financial terms are not yet public. Sources spoken to by ESPN said the contract will run for two seasons with a club option for a third, and that the salary will rank among the three highest in La Liga. The deal is expected to be formalised before pre-season opens at Valdebebas.
Mourinho's coaching career since leaving Madrid has taken him through Chelsea (a second spell), Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur and Roma, where he won the inaugural Europa Conference League in 2022 before being dismissed in 2024. He has spent the past 12 months without a permanent club, working as a television analyst.
The choice has split observers. Some point to Mourinho's elite trophy record — 26 senior titles across his career — as evidence that he remains the most decorated coach available. Others note that his most recent league finishes at Tottenham and Roma have been below the expectations of clubs of similar stature.
The most pressing on-pitch question is how Mourinho will manage the existing squad, particularly attacking stars such as Vinícius Júnior, Jude Bellingham and Rodrygo. Mourinho is associated with a more compact defensive shape and direct transitions, while recent Madrid sides have favoured a possession-heavy, expressive style.
Club sources insist Mourinho is open to adapting his framework to the player profile available. Sporting director Juni Calafat is expected to lead the transfer-market conversations alongside the new coach, with the midfield, where Madrid has struggled since Casemiro's 2023 departure, identified as the priority area to address.
Reaction from supporters has been mixed. Informal polls run by Spanish radio stations and fan accounts on social media show roughly half the Madridista base in favour of the appointment, with the remainder either cautious or hostile, citing the manner of Mourinho's 2013 departure.
If the announcement holds to the calendar described by ESPN's sources, Mourinho will be presented at the Bernabéu in early June, ahead of Madrid's participation in the expanded FIFA Club World Cup later in the summer.