The one ‘unfinished business’ that brought Mourinho back to Real Madrid – report | OneFootball

Jose Mourinho is on the verge of making one of the most anticipated returns in modern football, but this comeback is not going to be just about nostalgia.

The Portuguese coach is set to take charge of Real Madrid once again following Florentino Perez’s re-election as club president, with the final formalities of the agreement expected to be completed shortly. 

Yet, apart from all the headlines, there is one driving force behind Mourinho’s decision to return to the Santiago Bernabeu.

For a manager who has won league titles across Europe and lifted the UEFA Champions League with multiple clubs, there remains one chapter in Madrid that he never truly finished.

And now, he has the opportunity to rewrite it.

Mourinho’s unfinished business

Real Madrid’s decision to bring Mourinho back signals the start of a new project, but the manager arrives with a very clear objective already in mind.

Mourinho will return to Real Madrid. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

In that regard, winning the UEFA Champions League is understood to be the challenge that convinced him to accept the role, reports AS.

During his first spell in Madrid between 2010 and 2013, Mourinho transformed a team that had struggled to compete consistently with Europe’s elite. 

Under his command, Real Madrid captured La Liga, the Copa del Rey and the Spanish Super Cup while establishing themselves once again as a major force on the continental stage.

However, one achievement remained out of reach. Despite reaching three consecutive Champions League semi-finals, Mourinho never managed to guide Los Blancos to the final. 

Those near misses ultimately left a sense of unfinished business between the coach and the club.

Hope is a good thing

Mourinho knows his Real Madrid objective. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

Many within Real Madrid still view that period as the foundation of the club’s modern European dominance. 

Florentino Perez has frequently acknowledged the role Mourinho played in rebuilding the team’s competitive mentality before the club went on to win six Champions League titles in eleven years.

Now, more than a decade later, Mourinho returns with another opportunity to chase the trophy that escaped him during his first tenure.

Unlike his first arrival in Madrid, Mourinho now returns as a manager with nothing left to prove domestically.

However, winning another Champions League would strengthen Mourinho’s position among the greatest managers in football history and doing so with Real Madrid would carry even greater significance.