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Real Madrid is moving toward a decisive managerial change, with the club's president, Florentino Perez, pushing to bring back Jose Mourinho after a second consecutive season without a major trophy.
The Athletic reports that Perez has identified Mourinho as his preferred candidate to replace interim coach Alvaro Arbeloa, who is expected to leave at the end of the campaign after failing to stabilise results.
The shift also signals a change in internal decision-making, with Perez now leading the process directly rather than delegating it to general manager Jose Angel Sanchez, who oversaw last year’s appointment.
The push reflects deeper concerns inside the club about a project that has lost direction.
Real Madrid are set to finish the season without La Liga, Champions League or Copa del Rey titles, prompting what sources describe as an urgent need to restore competitiveness.
President Perez is understood to see Mourinho as a figure capable of reasserting authority, drawing on his previous spell between 2010 and 2013, when he won three trophies, including a record points total in the 2011 to 2012 La Liga campaign.
His potential return would follow a broader pattern at the club, where former managers such as Carlo Ancelotti and Zinedine Zidane have been brought back in recent years.
At the same time, Mourinho’s profile and confrontational style are seen as a way to restore intensity around a team that has struggled to define itself during a difficult season.
Despite strong backing from the president, Mourinho’s candidacy remains contested internally.
His previous tenure left a divided dressing room and included a high-profile conflict with then captain Iker Casillas, tensions that continue to shape how his time in Madrid is viewed.
Concerns have also resurfaced following controversy during his current role at Benfica. After a Champions League match in February, Vinicius Junior alleged racial abuse by Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni.
Mourinho later suggested the forward had incited the incident, comments that drew criticism in Spain. UEFA ultimately suspended Prestianni for six matches, citing homophobic conduct rather than racism.
Mourinho joined Benfica in September and remains under contract until June 2027, but his deal includes a release clause of around three million euros that can be activated by either party within ten days of the club’s final match of the season, effectively keeping the door open to a move.
Real Madrid has also considered alternatives, including Mauricio Pochettino and Didier Deschamps, while Jurgen Klopp remains admired internally despite his current role within Red Bull’s football structure.
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