Jose Mourinho is returning to Real Madrid. The 63-year-old Portuguese has signed a three-year contract to take charge at the Santiago Bernabeu for a second time, ending an 13-year absence from the club he led to a La Liga title in 2011-12 with a record 100 points and 121 goals. Mourinho replaces Carlo Ancelotti, who departed at the end of the 2025-26 season to take the Brazil national team job, and will be presented to supporters at the Bernabeu later this week.
The appointment, confirmed by the club in a brief statement on Friday, ends weeks of speculation that had also linked Xabi Alonso, Julian Nagelsmann and former midfielder Raul to the post. Mourinho leaves Fenerbahce after a single season in Istanbul, where he finished second in the Super Lig behind Galatasaray and reached the Europa League quarter-finals before falling to Tottenham.
A homecoming shaped by unfinished business
Mourinho’s first spell in Madrid, between 2010 and 2013, remains one of the most divisive chapters in the club’s modern history. He arrived from Inter Milan as the only manager to have won the Champions League with an Italian side outside Milan or Juventus, and was tasked with halting the Pep Guardiola-era Barcelona side that had won three consecutive La Liga titles. He delivered the 2010-11 Copa del Rey, the 2011-12 league title and the 2012 Supercopa, but left in 2013 after a fractious final season that included a public falling-out with Iker Casillas and a third-place finish.
Those who worked with him at Valdebebas recall a coach who built a counter-attacking machine around Cristiano Ronaldo, Mesut Ozil and Xabi Alonso, and one who was willing to absorb criticism on behalf of his squad. The 100-point season featured a 5-0 win at Athletic Bilbao, a 7-1 demolition of Osasuna and just two league defeats. It also produced four Clasicos in 18 days in April 2011 and the touchline poke at Tito Vilanova that has shadowed every conversation about his Madrid legacy since.
Club president Florentino Perez, who appointed Mourinho in 2010 and again now, told the assembled media: “Jose understands this club, its demands and its supporters. We have spoken at length and we are aligned on the direction of the team.”
The squad he inherits
Mourinho takes over a squad that finished the 2025-26 La Liga campaign in second place, four points behind Barcelona, and was eliminated in the Champions League semi-finals by Arsenal. The dressing room he walks into is markedly different from the one he left.
- Kylian Mbappe, the Ballon d’Or winner in 2025, scored 38 goals across all competitions but managed only two in the four Clasicos.
- Jude Bellingham, 22, is recovering from shoulder surgery and is not expected to be available until October.
- Vinicius Junior’s contract talks have stalled, with Saudi Pro League interest reported at more than €200m.
- The defensive unit lost Antonio Rudiger to a free transfer in January and is short of a senior right-back following Dani Carvajal’s retirement.
Sporting director Juni Calafat is understood to have already opened talks over a holding midfielder, with Sporting CP’s Morten Hjulmand and Bayer Leverkusen’s Granit Xhaka on the shortlist. Mourinho is expected to push for a recognised number nine to ease the load on Mbappe, who often drifted to the left in Ancelotti’s final months.
What it means for La Liga and beyond
The hire reshapes the top of the Spanish game. Hansi Flick’s Barcelona, who won a domestic double in May, will face a Real Madrid set up to defend deeper, press in midfield triggers rather than from the front, and target set-pieces — the very profile that troubled Guardiola’s side a decade ago. Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone, who has 14 Madrid derbies against Mourinho already on his record, called the appointment “logical for a club that wants noise as well as trophies.”
For Mourinho himself, this is a chance to repair a reputation that has frayed since his 2018 sacking at Manchester United. His subsequent stops at Tottenham, Roma — where he won the Europa Conference League in 2022 — and Fenerbahce produced silverware and headlines but no return to the elite of European football. A fourth Champions League, after his 2004 Porto and 2010 Inter triumphs, would put him level with Ancelotti and Bob Paisley on the all-time list.
Real Madrid begin pre-season on 7 July and play their first competitive fixture in the Spanish Super Cup in Saudi Arabia on 8 January. Mourinho’s first Clasico, at the Bernabeu, is scheduled for the weekend of 25 October.
Sports journalist and editor at SportsPortal.net. Covers cricket, football, Formula 1, tennis, and basketball with a focus on how global sports connect with Pakistani audiences. Follows the PSL, Pakistan national cricket team, Premier League, and major international tournaments. Has reported on sports for digital audiences since 2021.
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