Has current Benfica contract
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As a result of a likely titleless season, it is almost certain that Álvaro Arbeloa’s time as head coach of Real Madrid will end in the summer after six months. The names that have been talked about for the job at the Royals for months are quite something: from France’s national coach Didier Deschamps to his Argentinian counterpart Lionel Scaloni to the always denying Jürgen Klopp and José Mourinho. According to a report by “The Athletic”, the Portuguese, who coached Real from 2010 to 2013, is now the preferred solution of President Florentino Pérez, who once released him from Inter Milan.
The 79-year-old is driving forward the coaching decision at Real, the portal was told by several sources within the club. In the case of Xabi Alonso, who moved from Leverkusen to Madrid last summer, managing director José Ángel Sánchez was still primarily responsible for the choice. However, there is currently no uniform approval for Mourinho at Real. According to media reports, “The Special One” himself is very open to a move from Benfica to Madrid.
Former Spanish international Arbeloa was appointed coach in January to replace the sacked Alonso. The 43-year-old homegrown player will probably have to vacate his position at the end of the season after failing to improve the situation at the Royals. His points average of 1.91 is the weakest since the 14 games under Julen Lopetegui in 2018/19. The final stop in the Champions League was the quarter-finals against Bayern, and in LaLiga, arch-rivals FC Barcelona are eleven points ahead in first place five game days before the end of the season.
Mourinho back to Real Madrid: Like Ancelotti, Zidane & Co.
Mourinho was Real Madrid coach from 2010 to 2013. During this time he won three titles, including the 2011/12 championship, where he set a record with 100 points. The Champions League, a title Mourinho won with Porto and Inter Milan, was the only award he lacked during his time in the Spanish capital. He is unbeaten in the league with Benfica this season but is still likely to miss out on the title as Porto can win it this weekend.
His contract in Lisbon is valid until 2027, but reportedly contains a clause worth around 3 million euros that allows both parties to end the relationship up to ten days after the last game of the season. Should he return to Madrid, Mourinho would join Carlo Ancelotti, Zinédine Zidane, Fabio Capello and Alfredo di Stéfano, all of whom have been coached by Real Madrid at least twice. However, over the course of this season he caused criticism at the Royals. In the wake of the racism scandal between Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni, who has now been suspended for six games, and Real’s Vinicius Junior, he claimed that the incident came from the Brazilian.
