Article by Daniel Scorpie – Published Saturday, May 16, 2026, 10:31 / Updated Saturday, May 16, 2026 10:48
Jose Mourinho (63 years old) will be the new coach of Real Madrid. The Spanish press is no longer in doubt about Alvaro Arbeloa's replacement at the end of this season, still without trophies for the blanco club.
The countdown to Jose Mourinho's return to the Santiago Bernabeu team has started. The Portuguese coach should be officially announced immediately after Real Madrid's last game, i.e. next Sunday, May 24.
Marca: “It's a matter of days. Mourinho will be the fourth coach in a year, after Ancelotti, Xabi Alonso and Arbeloa”
The daily newspapers Marca and AS plus the radio station Cadena COPE published in unison the news that Mourinho is sure to be chosen by Florentino Perez. “His return to Real Madrid is only a matter of time. The Portuguese coach is the only candidate to become the next manager of Los Blancos.
Barring a dramatic turnaround, which is not currently being considered, Jose Mourinho will take Alvaro Arbeloa's place, thus becoming the fourth first team coach in just one year, after Carlo Ancelotti, Xabi Alonso and Arbeloa himself”writes the first quoted source today.
Victory by absentee score for Mourinho on his return to Benfica's bench // PHOTO: Imago Images
The brand also comes with arguments: “Choosing Mourinho seems the only logical option. Until recently, he was competing – always with an advantage – with names like Pochettino or Deschamps.
Recent events at Real Madrid, from Tchouameni's spat with Valverde to Mbappe's outburst against Arbeloa after Thursday's game with Oviedo, reinforce the preference for a profile like Mourinho's, considered the only one capable of putting order in the powder keg that Real Madrid's dressing room has turned into”.
The electoral process recently launched by Florentino Pérez after his equally heated press conference last Tuesday will not interfere with the Portuguese coach's arrival at the Bernabeu, which will most likely take place after Real Madrid's season ends on May 23 with the home game against Athletic Bilbao.
“The club's statute guarantees normal operation during the electoral processes, such as the one that, in theory, should take place in the next two weeks. This is in the event that an alternative candidacy to that of the current president appears,” states Marca.
“The new coach will have a hard say in the renewal of the Madrid squad. It will be a long hot summer at Valdebebas!”
The name of the Mexican billionaire Enrique Riquelme, circulated intensively in recent days as a potential rival for the presidency of the club, however, lost weight.
Real Madrid's last three great coaches: Carlo Ancelotti, Zinedine Zidane and Jose Mourinho / Photo: X Madrid Zone
The publication Madrid Zone claims that the group of the “King of the Sun” would have been attracted to the challenge only if Perez resigned and did not intend to compete in the next election called by the president of the club.
The Spanish newspaper writes that “it was Florentino Perez himself who, indirectly, supported Mourinho's return to Real Madrid, in an interview given to the publication La Sexta on Wednesday. “He was already here and he raised our level”, the president replied when asked about the Portuguese coach, the only coach he mentioned in the discussion.
Florentino believes Jose Mourinho's previous spell (from 2010 to 2013) was crucial to the successes that followed his departure, including four Champions League wins in five years between 2014 and 2018.
The remaining details, such as Mourinho's departure from Benfica in exchange for 3 million euros in compensation, are considered minor at Real Madrid, who have always maintained that the manager's situation was relatively easy to resolve. Renewing the squad will be another matter entirely, and the new coach will have a say in those decisions. It's going to be a long hot summer at Valdebebas!
– Brand, Spanish newspaper
