José Mourinho’s Real Madrid return puts Jorge Mendes back at the centre | OneFootball

José Mourinho’s Real Madrid return also revives the influence of his long-time agent Jorge Mendes, who is already attempting to move several of his players to the club.

According to L'Équipe, 13 years after his 2010 to 2013 spell, Mourinho returned on Thursday on a three-season deal to June 2029. Mendes’s ties with Florentino Pérez had deteriorated, leaving only one senior client, Andreï Lounine, but he directly negotiated the terms of Mourinho’s comeback with the president.

Rare under Pérez, Mourinho has been granted near full control of first-team recruitment. On Tuesday, on arriving in Madrid, he met at a city hotel from early evening until late with José Angel Sanchez, Juni Calafat and Mendes to plan summer ins and outs.

Mourinho asked the hierarchy to recruit Bernardo Silva, 31, now a free agent after his Manchester City contract expired. He also made midfielder Mateus Fernandes, 21, relegated to the Championship with West Ham, a priority, and both are part of Mendes’s stable.

Ruben Dias is being linked with increasing frequency to strengthen the defence, and he too is a Mendes client. An appointment for Pepe as assistant, a bridge between staff and players like Fernando Hierro and Zinédine Zidane under Carlo Ancelotti, was very close.

In 2010, Mendes swiftly delivered Angel Di Maria and Ricardo Carvalho, then Fabio Coentrao and Fabinho, having earlier placed Pepe, Ezequiel Garay and Cristiano Ronaldo. As in the early 2010s, Madrid could soon take on a Portuguese, or rather Mendes-led, feel.

Source: L'Équipe