Shortly after 10 p.m. Spanish time on Wednesday evening, Florentino Pérez’s campaign team announced the development. In a social‑media post they wrote, ‘MOUa lot of history to make‘, a play on the slogan meaning ‘MOUch history left to make.’
The pun, which relies on Pérez’s re‑election slogan, was paired with a short video that shows a smiling José Mourinho in a Real Madrid jersey uttering a single word: ‘Yes.’
Should Pérez win the Sunday election among club members, he has indicated that Mourinho would assume the role of head coach.
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Meanwhile, Pérez’s rival, businessman Enrique Riquelme, appeared live on the Spanish talk show ‘El Hormiguero’, stating that he would sign Erling Haaland should he be elected. During the interview, host Pablo Motos informed Riquelme that Pérez had just announced Mourinho’s return. Riquelme appeared momentarily taken aback, asking, ‘He’s announced him now?’ After a brief pause he added, ‘Well, he has had him before. I think he is a good coach.’
Pérez’s decision to appoint Mourinho as coach for the 2026‑27 season and beyond was not a sudden surprise. ESPN had reported a month earlier that Mourinho, who managed Real Madrid from 2010 to 2013, had agreed to return to the Bernabéu. The ongoing electoral process had raised questions about whether Pérez would name Mourinho before the Sunday vote or wait until after. Those uncertainties have now been resolved.
Real Madrid have failed to win a major trophy for two consecutive seasons, with three coaches — Carlo Ancelotti, Xabi Alonso and Álvaro Arbeloa — unable to extract optimal performance from the squad. Pérez believes Mourinho offers the appropriate solution.
\”[Kylian] Mbappé, Vinícius [Junior], [Jude] Bellingham, [Arda] Guler, [Federico] Valverde, [Aurelien] Tchouameni… They are among the world’s best,\” Pérez said in an interview with Spain’s national broadcaster TVE last week. \”A top‑class coach working with such talent can usher in another pivotal era for Real Madrid,\” he added, highlighting his confidence in Mourinho.
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Why Perez rates Mourinho so highly
Mourinho’s record as one of football’s most prominent managers spans more than two decades. His initial stint at Madrid, which began in May 2010, coincided with what many consider the peak of his career, following his recent European triumph with Internazionale.
Domestically, his objective was to challenge Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona. His predecessor, Manuel Pellegrini, had amassed 96 points in LaLiga during 2009‑10 yet still finished three points behind Barça. In Europe, Madrid had slipped further, having been eliminated in the Champions League round of 16 for six consecutive seasons. Upon Mourinho’s arrival, the club had not advanced beyond that stage for six years.
Under Mourinho, Real Madrid reached three successive Champions League semifinals, losing to Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, though they were unable to progress further. Domestically, the club captured the league in 2011‑12 for the first time in four years, a season dubbed the ‘record’ campaign, finishing with a then‑record 100 points, 121 goals scored and a goal difference of +89.
Even Lionel Messi’s historic tally of 50 league goals that season proved insufficient to prevent Mourinho’s Madrid from achieving its objectives.
The 2012‑13 campaign proved disastrous; Madrid trailed Barcelona by 15 points, and Mourinho labeled it \”the worst season of my career.\” He fell out with the press and senior squad members, including Iker Casillas and Sergio Ramos. In May 2013, Pérez announced that Mourinho was departing \”by mutual agreement,\” to be succeeded by Ancelotti, whose coaching philosophy differed markedly.
Although Mourinho’s tenure at Madrid was not without flaws, Pérez recalls it positively. \”We became competitive again,\” he said in a recent interview. \”In the subsequent 12 years we captured six Champions League titles,\” he noted, referring to triumphs under Ancelotti in 2014, 2022 and 2024 and Zidane’s three‑peat from 2016 to 2018. Nevertheless, Pérez credits Mourinho’s philosophy and methodology as the groundwork for those later successes.
Pérez has frequently been dismissive of coaches, emphasizing instead a ‘back‑to‑basics’ approach that prioritizes acquiring the world’s leading talent. \”You understand me,\” he remarked in a Diario AS interview on Thursday. \”As long as I remain president, the finest players globally will wear the club’s colors.\”
It is unlikely that Pérez would make similar statements about coaches. \”I have employed three coaches within a single year,\” he remarked, attempting to downplay the recent dual setbacks involving Alonso and Arbeloa, which trace back to the 2004‑05 period when José Antonio Camacho, Mariano García Ramón and Vanderlei Luxemburgo each held the managerial post.
Nevertheless, Pérez has consistently held Mourinho in high regard. \”He constantly emphasizes that he has only ever had one coach at Real Madrid,\” explained Eduardo Inda, a media personality and Pérez confidant, in 2015. \”He says it ironically, but the sentiment remains: during his twelve‑year presidency, Mourinho is the sole coach he has appointed.\”
In Pérez’s view, the only true coach he has ever appointed is Mourinho; others such as Vicente del Bosque, Fabio Capello, Pellegrini or Ancelotti are not considered.
Is Mourinho’s return really a surprise?
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Real Madrid’s present midfield bears little resemblance to its former self.
As the 2025‑26 campaign deteriorated toward a trophyless finish, the club sought a new head coach. The compressed summer schedule, precipitated by the World Cup, limited the window for appointing a successor. Former players Xabi Alonso and Álvaro Arbeloa, who had progressed through the club’s academy before assuming senior coaching roles, were recruited and dismissed within a matter of months.
Alonso’s tenure was abruptly terminated in January, after an initially promising start was undermined by Pérez’s waning confidence and the club’s insufficient support amid disputes with key figures such as Vinícius Júnior. Subsequently, Álvaro Arbeloa was appointed interim coach under trying circumstances, a move that failed to restore cohesion, highlighted by a public confrontation between Valverde and Tchouameni within the dressing room.
With Alonso and Arbeloa removed, the question arose: who would be next? This time, Pérez’s usual rapid recruitment tactics were unavailable. Carlo Ancelotti, who returned to Madrid in 2021 after a stint at Everton, is presently guiding Brazil at the World Cup. Zinedine Zidane, who previously stepped in to stabilize the team in 2019 after a nine‑month hiatus, is awaiting another opportunity with the French national side.
Mourinho’s potential appointment aligns with Pérez’s recent pattern of nostalgic, and some might argue uninspired, re‑hires. It also reflects his assessment of the club’s current challenges. Publicly, Pérez has cited the previous summer’s Club World Cup and the resulting congested calendar as limiting factors, stating, \”We lacked a preseason; consequently we suffered 28 injuries.\”
Privately, concerns have persisted regarding recurring dressing‑room discord, prompting a desire to address these issues. Some observers note parallels between the club’s situation now and that of 2010, when Madrid found itself at a disadvantage against a dominant Barcelona, echoing today’s circumstances.
According to ESPN sources, Mourinho was not initially the club’s primary candidate; several senior officials either dismissed his prospects or excluded him from consideration. They argued that both Mourinho and the club had evolved since 2010. Nevertheless, he remained Pérez’s preferred choice. Re‑establishing the relationship with Mourinho’s long‑time agent, Jorge Mendes, who had been effectively blacklisted by Madrid, became a priority. Director General José Ángel Sánchez played a key role in mending those ties, according to ESPN sources.
Is Mourinho still an elite coach?
During his recent spell at Benfica, the team remained unbeaten throughout the league season but drew 11 of 34 matches, ultimately finishing third behind Porto and Sporting CP.
In the Champions League, the side upset Madrid during the league phase before being eliminated in the subsequent playoff round.
At Fenerbahçe, Mourinho guided the club to a second‑place finish without defeating any of the Istanbul rivals Galatasaray or Beşiktaş.
Earlier, his tenure at Roma yielded two sixth‑place Serie A finishes and culminated in the 2022 Conference League title.
That trophy constitutes his sole triumph in the past five seasons.
Mourinho continues to enjoy substantial support among a segment of Real Madrid supporters, while others recall his stint less fondly.
Veteran journalist Santi Segurola remarked on Onda Cero Radio earlier this week, \”Many admire Mourinho, but many view his potential return as an exercise in nostalgia, driven by a president who should be proposing something new and different. He is proposing a coach from sixteen years ago.\”
A social‑media post from Pérez’s campaign on Thursday outlined the rationale for Mourinho’s prospective comeback, reinforcing the nostalgic tone. It opened with the question, ‘Because?’, echoing Mourinho’s infamous 2011 press‑conference outburst at the Bernabéu following a Champions League defeat to Barcelona, and proceeded with, \”Why?\”
Some ESPN insiders at the Valdebebas training complex express concern that Mourinho’s return could exacerbate an already volatile internal environment. Conversely, others argue that this iteration of Mourinho differs from his earlier, more confrontational self and may share more qualities with Ancelotti.
While nostalgia may prove persuasive during the election, its efficacy as a blueprint for on‑field success remains uncertain.