If Jose Mourinho succeeds in returning to Real Madrid, it will be the most shocking transfer on the coaching bench this summer. According to Cadena SER, the Bernabeu team will announce a new captain to replace Alvaro Arbeloa before the 2026 World Cup kicks off.
Mourinho's previous term with Real Madrid (2010 - 2013) left a lot of controversy. He was the one who helped the team somewhat overcome Barcelona's seemingly absolute dominance. However, in the final stage, the "Special One" disagreed with a series of big names of Real Madrid such as Jorge Valdano, Iker Casillas or Cristiano Ronaldo.
However, for godfather Perez, Mourinho always "pulling his feathers" in front of the media to protect the club is something he really likes. Not only that, the 63-year-old coach always showing ultimate hostility to Barcelona is also in line with the wishes of the top leader of the Bernabeu.
At Real Madrid, although there are still many people with positions such as General Director Jose Angel Sanchez and chief scout Juni Calafat, with what Florentino Perez wants, he will decide alone. When making choices on the coaching bench, this personality president often relies on personal feelings and has never sat down to measure the indicators, achievements or history of that coach.
Perez is right to target Mourinho as an old player because before, many names when returning to Real Madrid all left behind unforgettable glory. Carlo Ancelotti was the one who brought home the 10th European championship title for the team in 2014. Then when he returned, the Italian coach helped Los Blancos reach the top of Europe twice again. Or like Zinedine Zidane, he was already a legend of the team when he was a player. Right in his first appointment as coach, ZiZou created an unprecedented record when he helped Real Madrid win the Champions League 3 times in a row.
Occasionally, Perez also let himself be influenced by advice from directors or advisors when appointing new personnel. For example, the case of appointing the current head coach of the Spanish national team, Julen Lopetegui, before the 2018 World Cup. Then came the case of Xabi Alonso replacing Carlo Ancelotti in May last year. However, he also quickly fired both and did not have a long-term immediate replacement plan.
Real Madrid is too great, so any coach wants to try their hand once. However, there are also limitations in this team that hinder many coaches. Los Blancos are built according to the Galaticos model, so a series of the brightest stars of the football world will come here. Therefore, sometimes the voice of the head coach is not necessarily number 1. Not only that, as long as there is Perez, strategists sometimes cannot buy people according to their wishes and have to rely on their old boss at the Bernabeu.
Not only that, the coaches who come to Real Madrid always have pressure to win the Champions League and La Liga almost immediately. Xabi Alonso's case is entangled in all these obstacles, so he only stayed in office for 8 months. Alvaro Arbeloa is a person who knows how to be gentle in everything but does not leave any impression of a coach who can bring Real Madrid to success.
This is a very important time for Florentino Perez's career and legacy at Real Madrid because his time in office is probably not long when he is 79 years old. The Super League project is still unfinished, it is not known when it will be restarted. Besides, the Bernabeu reconstruction project still has many obstacles. Not only that, Perez is still a thorn in the side of referees and the La Liga organizers. Finally, the dominance of arch-rival Barcelona. Blaugrana are dominating the increasingly fierce competition between the two teams and can completely celebrate the La Liga championship once again at Camp Nou in the next few weeks.
In addition, Real Madrid's squad is also facing serious problems, with too many attacking star strikers and a lack of reliable defenders. The team is almost certain to end their second consecutive season empty-handed, the first time this has happened since the 2009-2010 season, right before Jose Mourinho was first appointed.
When Perez is being surrounded by so many things, perhaps a person who dares to stand up against everything like Jose Mourinho is reasonable. Mourinho will attract all those bad public opinions so that Perez can be more relaxed psychologically. Not only that, when trying a progressive coach like Alonso but failing, who knows, an old value will bring everything back to the right rules as Perez wants.
