Florentino Pérez has announced that José Mourinho will be the new coach of Real Madrid if he wins the upcoming presidential elections.
His candidacy has shared a video with the Portuguese on social networks, accompanied by the message: “There is still a lot of history to be written.”
In the short clip, Mourinho utters just one word: “Yes.” The announcement was made at the same time as another presidential candidate, Enrique Riquelme, was appearing on the show “El Hormiguero,” where he was expected to present his plans for reinforcements.
Details of the agreement
According to reports, if Pérez wins, the first move will be to officially confirm Mourinho’s return – an operation that has reportedly been in the works for almost two weeks during the pre-election period. The agreement between the coach and the club was reached earlier, while Jorge Mendes is reported to have negotiated the details with Benfica.
Although the €7m release clause expired on May 26, Benfica have finally agreed to let him go. The Lisbon club initially demanded €15m, the equivalent of Mourinho’s gross annual salary, but have reportedly backed down to pave the way for preferred manager Marco Silva (Fulham), who is also represented by Mendes.
Mourinho is expected to sign a two-year contract with Real Madrid, with the option of an automatic extension for a third year if the club win La Liga. His main goal and reason for returning to Madrid remains the Champions League.
In his first term (2010-2013), he won the championship, the Cup and the Spanish Super Cup, but was stopped three times in a row in the semi-finals of the Champions League.
However, Pérez has repeatedly stressed that Mourinho was the coach who “laid the foundations” for the subsequent era of success, when Real won six Champions Leagues in 11 years.
Purchase plan and player profile
Mourinho’s return is expected to be made official immediately after the elections, if Pérez wins on Sunday. The Portuguese wants to start work as soon as possible, aware that the election period has consumed significant time in the transfer market planning.
His requirements are said to be clear: he is targeting one or two centre-backs, a right-back, a left-back, as well as two midfielders – one creator and one destroyer/defender.
Several moves are reportedly already being prepared, such as a deal for Ibrahima Konaté, whose contract with Liverpool is reportedly due to expire, with Real looking to sign him on a free transfer, in a scenario similar to Alaba and Rüdiger’s previous approaches.
For the right-back, the name of Denzel Dumfries has been mentioned, but Mourinho is said to want to wait until the start of pre-season to assess the squad before making final decisions on reinforcements.
