Tag: Real Madrid

Real Madrid appointed Jose Mourinho as their coach on Thursday on a three-year deal, with the Portuguese veteran making a sensational return to the Spanish capital after 13 years away.

The 63-year-old replaces Alvaro Arbeloa after Madrid finished a second consecutive season without a major trophy, falling behind domestic rivals Barcelona.

“(Real Madrid have) agreed to appoint Jose Mourinho as the first team’s head coach for the next three seasons, until June 30, 2029,” said the 15-time European champions in a statement.

“Jose Mourinho will join Real Madrid on July 13, the day preseason begins.”

One of football’s most successful yet divisive managers, Mourinho arrives from Benfica, where the Lisbon club completed an unbeaten league campaign but finished third.

Benfica said on Wednesday that Real Madrid were paying 15 million euros ($17.25m) for the Portuguese coach.

Mourinho managed Madrid between 2010 and 2013, winning La Liga, the Copa del Rey and the Spanish Super Cup during an intense period of rivalry with Pep Guardiola’s golden era Barcelona side.

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Real Madrid became the first club to reach 100 points in a La Liga season under Mourinho in the 2011-12 campaign, although Barcelona did the same in the subsequent season before Mourinho departed.

Mourinho divided the Real Madrid dressing room, with some players, including predecessor Arbeloa, fiercely loyal to him, while others were at loggerheads with the coach.

Known to rule with an iron fist, Mourinho is charged with bringing Real Madrid’s dressing room egos in check, after multiple conflicts and problems marked a troubled season.

Madrid midfielder Fede Valverde was treated in hospital after a row with team-mate Aurelien Tchouameni in May, among other flashpoints.

Coaches Carlo Ancelotti, Xabi Alonso and Arbeloa also could not find a way to successfully deploy star players Vinicius Junior, Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham together without destabilising the balance of the team.

In an appearance on Spanish television earlier in May, Madrid president Florentino Perez credited Mourinho with laying the groundwork for Real Madrid’s last six Champions League titles, achieved in the years after the Portuguese departed.

The chief said he would bring back Mourinho if he was re-elected president earlier in June, which he was.

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Mourinho’s return to Madrid also signifies a jump back to the European elite after several years away from the game’s peak.

The coach burst into the limelight as he won the Champions League with Porto in 2004, before helping Chelsea claim back-to-back Premier League titles in 2005 and 2006.

Mourinho labelled himself a “special one” as his team dominated the English top flight, before guiding Inter Milan to Champions League glory in 2010 as part of a unique treble for an Italian side.

Madrid chief Perez appointed him to try and stop Guardiola’s powerful Barca team, which he achieved to an extent, in a fractious spell which also disrupted the harmony in the Spanish national team.

Mourinho returned to Chelsea, winning the Premier League in 2015, before modest spells at Manchester United, Tottenham and Roma, among other clubs.

He won the EFL Cup and Europa League with Manchester United in 2017 and, since then, has only lifted the Conference League trophy with Roma in 2022.

The coach was sacked by Turkish side Fenerbahce in August 2025 after failing to guide them past Benfica in a Champions League qualification play-off, before he was appointed by the Portuguese side the following month.

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Benfica on Tuesday parted company with coach Jose Mourinho, who is close to returning to Real Madrid, and announced an agreement with Fulham boss Marco Silva to replace him.

The Lisbon club said Real Madrid had “formalised their intention to sign Mourinho for a fee of 15 million euros ($17.25 million)” in a statement sent to Portugal’s financial markets regulator.

The amount corresponds to the release clause in Mourinho’s contract.

Benfica subsequently announced they had struck a two-year deal with Silva, who left Fulham last week after five seasons at the Premier League club.

Florentino Perez’s re-election as Real Madrid president at the weekend paved the way for Mourinho to return to the Spanish capital.

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Mourinho, 63, first joined Real Madrid in 2010, spending three seasons at the club.

During his tenure, he won one La Liga championship, one Copa del Rey and the Spanish Super Cup during a period of fierce rivalry with Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona.

Appointing the divisive Mourinho will be a gamble on the part of president Perez after Los Blancos finished without a major trophy in 2025/26, making it a second consecutive barren season.

Real Madrid confirmed the departure of coach Alvaro Arbeloa earlier on Tuesday.

Arbeloa, who arrived in January to replace Xabi Alonso, had announced last month that he would be leaving his post at the end of the season.

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Real Madrid said on Tuesday that Atletico Madrid had rejected the club’s offer of 150 million euros ($173 million) for Argentine forward Julian Alvarez.

“After reviewing and evaluating the offer, Club Atletico de Madrid has expressed its gratitude for the proposal… and has rejected it,” Real Madrid said in a statement.

A World Cup winner with Argentina in 2022 and formerly of Manchester City, the 26-year-old Alvarez joined Atletico in 2024. He is under contract until June 2030, with a release clause estimated at 500 million euros.

Included in Argentina’s squad for the upcoming FIFA World Cup 2026, Alvarez scored eight goals last season in La Liga and 10 in the Champions League, where Atletico were eliminated in the semi-finals by Arsenal.

“After studying and evaluating it, Atletico de Madrid thanked the club for the offer made, in keeping with the good relations between our two clubs, but rejected it,” Real Madrid said in a statement.

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Atletico Madrid scoffed at the Real statement.

“You may have confused politeness with gratitude, but to be clear: we don’t thank you for anything. We neither studied nor considered any offer for Julian. You make us laugh even more than Barcelona do,” Atletico said in reply to Real in a social media post.

Re-elected on Sunday as Real Madrid president, Florentino Perez had promised during his election campaign that he would make a big-name signing.

Spanish media had reported that the target was Bayern Munich winger Michael Olise; however, the German club said they would not be selling their French international.

“If Florentino Perez wants to send us an offer, which has not happened so far, he can save himself the trouble,” said Bayern president Herbert Hainer.

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Portuguese giants Benfica confirmed on Thursday that Spanish club Real Madrid would have to pay 15 million euros to prise away their coach, Jose Mourinho.

Real president Florentino Perez has vowed to bring back Mourinho to the Bernabeu, 13 years after he left the club in 2013, as he seeks re-election this weekend.

Benfica released a statement saying that Perez had told them of his “firm intention to recruit” Mourinho, while stipulating that the Portuguese boss’s release clause was worth 15 million euros ($17.4m).

“Sport Lisboa e Benfica announces that, as part of his campaign for the Real Madrid CF presidency, President Florentino Pérez has stated his firm intention to appoint José Mário dos Santos Mourinho Félix as manager should he win the club’s presidential election, scheduled for 7 June 2026,” the Benfica statement shared with Portugal’s financial regulator, the CMVM, said.

“Should this scenario arise, the appointment will be made for a fee of €15,000,000, corresponding to the termination clause in the current sports employment contract.”

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Previous media reports had suggested that it could cost the Spanish giants as little as three million euros.

Mourinho has already appeared in a video on Perez’s Instagram account, affirming that he was ready to return to the club he first joined in 2010.

During his tenure, he won one La Liga title, a Copa del Rey and a Spanish Super Cup.

Appointing the divisive Mourinho would be a gamble on the part of Perez after Los Blancos finished without a major trophy for a second consecutive season.

But Perez sees Mourinho as the man to bring some discipline to a divided dressing room in which player power is rumoured to have got out of control.

Mourinho joined Benfica in September 2025 and led them to an unbeaten league season, although they only finished third. He has one year left on his contract.

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Jose Mourinho will return to Spanish club Real Madrid should current president Florentino Perez secure re-election in next Sunday’s vote for the club presidency.

In a brief video shared on the official Instagram account of Perez’s campaign, Mourinho appears wearing a Real Madrid shirt and simply says: “Yes.”

The announcement was released at almost the same time as Perez’s electoral rival, Enrique Riquelme, was preparing to unveil a major signing on a television programme.

The video starts with the caption: “While they talk and talk and talk on TV”, before cutting to Mourinho, dressed in white, delivering his response.

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Should Perez win the election, Mourinho would return to the club 13 years after his departure in 2013.

For the unversed, Mourinho first joined Real Madrid in 2010, spending three seasons at the club. During his tenure, he won one La Liga title, a Copa del Rey and a Spanish Super Cup.

Appointing the divisive Mourinho would be a gamble on the part of president Perez after Los Blancos finished without a major trophy for a second consecutive season.

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Austrian defender David Alaba is set to leave Real Madrid at the end of the season when his contract expires, Los Blancos confirmed on Friday.

The 33-year-old has been in the Spanish capital for five years after joining from Bayern Munich, but serious injury problems have stopped him from playing consistently.

“Real Madrid C. F. and David Alaba have agreed to bring his time as a player of our club to an end at the conclusion of the current season,” said Los Blancos in a statement.

Notably, Alaba has represented the club in 131 matches over 5 seasons, during which he has won 11 titles: 2 European Cups, 2 Club World Cups, 2 European Super Cups, 2 La Liga titles, 1 Copa del Rey, and 2 Spanish Super Cups.

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“Real Madrid wishes to express its gratitude and all its affection to a player who has been part of a team that has marked one of the most successful periods in our history,” the club added.

Alaba, like right-back Dani Carvajal and departing coach Alvaro Arbeloa, can say goodbye to the club’s supporters on Saturday in Madrid’s final league match of the season, at home against Athletic Bilbao.

The centre-back, who has not yet announced his next destination, will captain Austria at the World Cup this summer.

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Alvaro Arbeloa announced on Friday that he will be stepping down from his position as head coach of Real Madrid following a season in which the team failed to secure any trophies.

“Yes,” Arbeloa said at a press conference when asked to confirm that he would not be coaching the team next season, amid widespread reports that veteran manager Jose Mourinho is returning to the club.

Los Blancos host Athletic Bilbao on Saturday at the Santiago Bernabeu in their final La Liga match of a turbulent campaign.

Real Madrid president Florentino Perez appointed Arbeloa to replace Xabi Alonso in January, and he is set to be replaced himself by Portuguese veteran Mourinho.

Spaniard Arbeloa said he would not work as a member of Mourinho’s staff if the Portuguese coach is appointed as his successor.

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“Mou has a fantastic technical team, he’s got good people around him, if he comes to Madrid, he will come with his team,” said Arbeloa. “There’s no chance that I would be with him. Then, my future… from Monday I’ll think about that.”

Arbeloa, who played at Madrid between 2009 and 2016 and later coached there at the youth level, said he hoped this match was a “see you later” rather than goodbye.

“I hope it’s a see you later… I’ve always considered this my home, I’ve belonged to Madrid for 20 years in various roles,” said Arbeloa.

“It will be my last game this season as coach of Real Madrid. I don’t know if it will be the last game of my life as coach of Real Madrid.

“We never know. I’ll try and enjoy it and try to get the win.”

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MADRID: Jose Mourinho has agreed to return to Real Madrid on a two-year contract, sources told ESPN, with the veteran manager set for a second spell at the Santiago Bernabeu.

The 63-year-old is expected to replace Alvaro Arbeloa, who took charge earlier this year following the departure of Xabi Alonso.

Sources revealed that Mourinho’s agreement with Madrid has been reached verbally, although the contract has not yet been formally signed.

Mourinho is currently in charge of Benfica, where he guided the club through an unbeaten domestic league campaign this season. Despite the strong run, Benfica narrowly missed out on the Portuguese league title.

According to reports, the Portuguese club are set to receive around €7 million in compensation as Mourinho still has a contract running until 2027.

Real Madrid had reportedly considered several high-profile candidates for the managerial role, including Jurgen Klopp, Didier Deschamps and Mauricio Pochettino.

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However, club president Florentino Perez is understood to have backed Mourinho as the ideal figure to revive Madrid after two disappointing seasons without a major trophy.

Madrid currently trail champions Barcelona by 11 points in La Liga with one match remaining, while their UEFA Champions League campaign ended in the quarter-finals against Bayern Munich.

Mourinho previously managed Real Madrid between 2010 and 2013, winning one La Liga title, one Copa del Rey and one Supercopa de España during a fiercely competitive era dominated by Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona.

Since leaving Madrid in 2013, Mourinho has managed Chelsea, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur, Roma, Fenerbahçe and Benfica.

Mourinho himself hinted at an imminent decision regarding his future after Benfica’s season concluded.

“My future should be decided this week,” Mourinho said on Sunday, while confirming that his agent Jorge Mendes had been in contact with Real Madrid officials.

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Real Madrid star Kylian Mbappe was whistled by fans at the Santiago Bernabeu in his team’s 2-0 win over Real Oviedo on Thursday in La Liga.

The Frenchman returned from a thigh injury as a substitute for Los Blancos, who will finish a second straight season without a major trophy after Barcelona were crowned league champions last week.

Madrid, without Mbappe, lost the Clasico at Camp Nou on Sunday to confirm Hansi Flick’s side as title winners.

Their top goalscorer, Mbappe, has come in for heavy criticism from the club’s fans in recent weeks for a perceived lack of commitment to the cause.

Gonzalo Garcia opened the scoring for second-place Madrid before half-time, and Jude Bellingham added the second in a routine victory over relegated Oviedo at a stadium with thousands of empty seats.

“The whistles… that’s life, you can’t change the opinion of the people when they are angry,” Mbappe told reporters.

“It’s the life of a Real Madrid player and a famous player like me. Footballers don’t always have to understand; they have to accept and look forward and change the situation.”

Alvaro Arbeloa, whose future as Madrid coach is poised to come to an end with Jose Mourinho linked with a return to the Bernabeu bench, began with Mbappe and England international Bellingham on the bench.

Franco Mastantuono forced an early save from Aaron Escandell in what proved Madrid’s best opening for most of the first period.

At the other end, Nacho Vidal smashed over after a good move from the visitors.

Madrid winger Vinicius Junior, who was also the target of some whistles, had a shot blocked and then fired the rebound into the side-netting.

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Madrid edged ahead with a tidy finish by Garcia shortly before the interval after Brahim Diaz fired a low pass his way in the box.

Escandell tipped over a Diaz drive and then saved from Alvaro Carreras at the near post in the second half.

Vidal missed another fine chance for Oviedo, dragging his shot across the goal and wide.

Arbeloa sent on Mbappe, who was whistled by Madrid’s fans, particularly unhappy at his recent holiday to Sardinia while recovering from injury.

Mbappe, who scored 41 goals in 41 games across all competitions this season before this game, tried his best to shrug it off. The striker had a couple of shots off-target and another blocked.

Many Los Blancos players have been jeered by Madrid supporters over the years, including Mbappe’s idol Cristiano Ronaldo.

Madrid president Florentino Perez this week called elections during a tumultuous period for the club.

Stewards took away a banner from fans reading “Florentino go now”, with opinion split over the Madrid chief.

Bellingham added the second for Madrid after receiving the ball from Mbappe, creating some space for himself and drilling hard and low past Escandell from just inside the box.

It settled this match, but Madrid’s problems will not be solved as easily.

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FC Barcelona legend Lionel Messi congratulated his former club on social media after the Catalans defeated arch-rivals Real Madrid 2-0 in El Clasico to secure the La Liga title at a packed Camp Nou.

Goals from Marcus Rashford and Ferran Torres in the first half guided Hansi Flick’s side to their 29th league crown and a second consecutive La Liga triumph.

The victory moved Barcelona 14 points clear of second-placed Real Madrid with only three matches remaining, confirming the title and condemning Los Blancos to a trophyless campaign.

Shortly after the final whistle, Messi shared his reaction on Instagram, posting a story with the words “Champion” and “Visca Barca,” meaning “Long live Barcelona.”

The Argentine icon spent 18 remarkable years at Barcelona and remains the club’s all-time leading scorer with 672 goals in 778 appearances.

Messi won every major trophy during his legendary spell at Camp Nou before leaving the club in 2021 in emotional circumstances to join Paris Saint-Germain (PSG). He later moved to Inter Miami, where he guided the MLS side to the 2025 MLS Cup title.

Barcelona entered the Clasico needing only to avoid defeat to secure the title, but the Catalans showed attacking intent from the start in front of a jubilant 62,000-strong crowd at Camp Nou.

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It marked the first Clasico at the stadium since its reopening, and the hosts responded with a dominant first-half display.

Rashford opened the scoring with a stunning free-kick from around 20 yards out, curling the ball into the top-left corner to spark wild celebrations.

Torres then doubled Barcelona’s advantage before halftime to put the champions firmly in control.

The match also carried historical significance as it was only the second time a La Liga title had been decided directly through the result of an El Clasico.

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