Real Madrid turn to Mourinho in bid to bring stability and end trophy drought
FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football – Primeira Liga – Benfica v S.C. Braga – Estadio da Luz, Lisbon, Portugal – May 11, 2026 Benfica coach Jose Mourinho REUTERS/Pedro Rocha/File Photo
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June 11 : Real Madrid appointed Jose Mourinho as their new manager on a three-year contract on Thursday, turning back to the Portuguese tactician who once delivered them a record-breaking LaLiga triumph but has not won a league title since leaving the Spanish capital.
“Jose Mourinho will join Real Madrid on July 13, the day preseason begins,” Real said in a statement.
The move comes after Real endured a humiliating end to their domestic campaign, with Barcelona clinching the league title with a 2-0 victory in ‘El Clasico’ last month.
It marked the first time in 94 years that the Spanish league had been decided by a meeting between the fierce rivals.
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The record 15-times Champions League winners have also failed to clear the quarter-final stage in the last two seasons, prompting club president Florentino Perez to act decisively after two seasons without a major trophy.
Real had sacked Xabi Alonso following a Spanish Super Cup loss to Barcelona in January before his replacement Alvaro Arbeloa also failed to get the best out of a fractured dressing room that descended into chaos.
The breaking point came when captain Federico Valverde and Aurelien Tchouameni engaged in a dressing room fight that resulted in Valverde being taken to hospital with a cut, with both players being fined 500,000 euros ($581,750) each.
Mourinho, 63, previously managed Real’s ‘Galactico’ signings from 2010-2014 after arriving fresh from a treble-winning campaign with Inter Milan.
During his tenure at Real, the fiery Portuguese manager won the Copa del Rey in 2010-11 and delivered the LaLiga title the following season with a record-breaking 100-point tally while challenging Pep Guardiola’s all-conquering Barcelona side.
However, the self-anointed “Special One” also damaged relations between the clubs to the point that their rivalry nearly spilled over into the Spain dressing room.
MODEST TROPHY HAUL AFTER REAL MADRID
Since leaving Real, Mourinho’s trophy haul has been modest.
At Manchester United, he won the League Cup and Europa League, while his recent success came with AS Roma’s third-tier Conference League triumph.
His managerial journey has also included stops at Tottenham Hotspur, Fenerbahce and Benfica, where he was under contract until June 2027 and previously said the Portuguese club had proposed a renewal.
As Mourinho returns to one of Europe’s most prized leagues, pundits argue that soccer has evolved beyond his pragmatic style.
But Perez sees the veteran manager, known for handling dressing room egos, as the ideal candidate to restore discipline and a winning mentality at the Bernabeu.
With a talented squad including world renowned players such as Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Jr and Jude Bellingham at his disposal, Mourinho might be just the person to ensure there is no third trophyless season for Real.
($1 = 0.8595 euros)
Source: Reuters
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