🚨 Official: José Mourinho back at Real Madrid! | OneFootball

A coach apart... for a club apart.

It’s official: José Mourinho is the new Real Madrid manager!

Benfica indeed officially confirmed on Tuesday evening that the Portuguese coach will be leaving for Madrid starting next season.

Mourinho thus replaces his former player at the club, Álvaro Arbeloa, who had been serving as interim manager after Xabi Alonso was dismissed last January.

Six complicated months for Arbeloa, who saw his dressing room split apart and, more recently, Kylian Mbappé publicly take a swipe at him.

It is in this context of crisis that José Mourinho is making his big return to Real Madrid. The 63-year-old manager was in charge of the club from 2010 to 2013. 

Real Madrid also had to pay €15 million to trigger the Portuguese manager’s release clause at Benfica. And according to Ramon Alvarez de Mon, Mourinho also agreed to take a pay cut to return to Real. While he was earning €16 million gross per year with the Portuguese club, he will “only” earn €12 million at Real.

After one season (2024-25) at Fenerbahçe and eight months at Benfica, Mourinho returns to one of the most powerful clubs in the world and a serious contender to win the Champions League, a competition that has eluded him since his triumph with Inter in 2010.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇫🇷 here.

📸 PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA - AFP or licensors