Mourinho in final negotiations to become Real manager
He won the Europa League, EFL Cup and Community Shield during his first season at Old Trafford but was sacked in December 2018 after a poor run of results. Mourinho also had spells at Tottenham, Serie A side Roma, where he won the Europa Conference League in 2022, and Turkish club Fenerbahce, before taking over at Benfica last year. Meanwhile, Real have ended their 2025-26 campaign trophyless, with rivals Barcelona sealing the La Liga title with a 2-0 El Clasico victory and by a 14-point margin.
Los Blancos' Champions League run ended with a 6-4 aggregate defeat by German champions Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals. Off the pitch, the club fined midfielders Aurelien Tchouameni and Federico Valverde a combined 1m euros this month following a dressing room row . Valverde, 27, went to hospital with a head injury after the spat with 26-year-old France international Tchouameni but denied the pair "came to blows".
The logic behind Real Madrid's decision is clear. The club were not simply searching for a tactician. They were looking for a manager capable of restoring authority, identity and emotional control to a fractured squad after a turbulent season.
One of the biggest reasons behind Mourinho's appeal is the current state of the dressing room, highlighted by the spat between Tchouameni and Valverde. Earlier this month, defender Alvaro Carreras was forced to respond to reports linking him to a disagreement with team-mate Antonio Rudiger, while there has also been growing scrutiny surrounding Kylian Mbappe after the forward travelled to Sardinia during his recovery from a hamstring injury. The trip sparked backlash among supporters, with an 'Mbappe Out' petition reportedly attracting more than 73 million signatures.
With the dressing room in turmoil and the club's reputation on the line, Real Madrid need a strong leader to steer the team back on course next season. Against that backdrop, Florentino Perez is likely to view Mourinho as the ideal figure to restore order and authority within the dressing room. The club will hope he can rebuild a side that fights collectively rather than individually, and to manage some of football's biggest personalities, several of whom have faced criticism this season for acting egotistically.