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Real Madrid are searching the market for a new manager to revive their struggling side, and a polarizing, well-known name has risen to the top of their list: José Mourinho.
The clock is ticking for current manager Álvaro Arbeloa, who stepped in during January following Xabi Alonso's brief and underwhelming spell in charge. Despite his efforts, the former Castilla head coach has been unable to breathe life into a structurally broken Real Madrid squad, making his departure this summer all but inevitable.
Several high-profile names have been connected to the role, among them Jürgen Klopp, Mauricio Pochettino and Didier Deschamps. However, The Athletic reports that Mourinho is club president Florentino Pérez's preferred choice, paving the way for a potential dramatic homecoming to the Spanish capital for "the Special One."
There is undeniable appeal in bringing back the iconic manager to steady the ship at the Bernabéu, yet a second chapter for Mourinho can only unfold in one of two ways—spectacular success or catastrophic failure.
Mourinho's Résumé Speaks for Itself
Mourinho patrolled Real Madrid's dugout from 2010 to 2013, and left his mark on Spanish football across those three seasons. The Portuguese tactician claimed the Copa del Rey in his first campaign, then guided Los Blancos to a record-breaking 100 points and the La Liga crown in his second year. He rounded off his time at the club by lifting the Spanish Super Cup.
Three trophies may not seem extraordinary on paper, but given that Real Madrid have failed to get close to any major silverware over the past two years, the achievement carries far greater weight. Whether the club or its supporters care to acknowledge it or not, the bar has been lowered at the Bernabéu—to the point where even a Copa del Rey triumph would be celebrated by a team that once collected Champions League titles with ease.
Mourinho, who never guided the club to European success, also boasts the second-best win rate of any manager in the club's history at 71.91%. Across 178 games at the helm, he recorded 127 victories, 28 draws and just 23 defeats.
That winning mentality is painfully absent from the current squad, who frequently struggle to see out matches or appear completely lost when attempting to do so. Mourinho, for whom winning is the only priority, would inject a much-needed new attitude into a team desperate to recapture its former glory.
The Allure of Expired Goods
Despite his track record at Real Madrid and an enviable trophy haul from a storied career, Mourinho has rarely replicated those heights since departing the Bernabéu in 2013. The 63-year-old has secured just one league title in that time, coming at Chelsea in 2014–15 alongside the Carabao Cup.
He did guide Manchester United to Europa League, Carabao Cup and Community Shield triumphs during his time at Old Trafford, and also steered Roma to Conference League success.
That amounts to six trophies across 13 years at Chelsea, Man Utd, Tottenham Hotspur, Roma, Fenerbahçe and Benfica. Any other manager with a comparable record would almost certainly never be considered for what is arguably the most demanding job in world football.
Yet Real Madrid have a tendency to hand the reins back to familiar faces, even when the warning signs are plain to see.
Repeated History Could Doom Real Madrid Even Further
Nobody has forgotten how toxic the Real Madrid dressing room eventually became under Mourinho. The manager clashed personally with club captain Iker Casillas, labelled Karim Benzema a "cat" and fell out with Cristiano Ronaldo.
Managing personalities and egos at the Bernabéu is widely regarded as the most critical aspect of the role, and Mourinho demonstrated that he is unable to sustain that for more than a season or two. Appointing such a divisive figure—one who demands total commitment and has no hesitation in publicly criticizing even the game's biggest names—is a recipe for chaos.
Whether that reflects more on the players in white than on the manager himself is an entirely separate conversation. But that is simply the reality at Real Madrid.
Perhaps if Mourinho were walking into a united dressing room with a genuine appetite for change, the outcome might be different. But the squad is already fragmented, and introducing a leader of the Portuguese's temperament and reputation will likely only deepen the divisions.
Picture Mourinho confronting Kylian Mbappé over a failure to track back defensively. The Frenchman may have liked an Instagram post welcoming the former manager's potential return to the Bernabéu, but he is almost certainly not prepared—or willing—to adapt to that style of play.
The Vinicius Junior Situation
Then there is Vinicius Junior, another player who has historically fallen short of the defensive discipline and work rate that Mourinho demands. Yet those tactical differences would be the least of the issues between the pair.
Mourinho found himself in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons following Real Madrid's Champions League knockout phase playoff clash with Benfica this season. Vinicius Jr alleged that Gianluca Prestianni directed racial abuse at him after netting the decisive goal at the Estádio da Luz.
In response, Mourinho implied that the Brazilian had provoked the reaction through his goal celebration. He went on to state, "When he was arguing about racism, I told him the biggest person in the history of this club [Eusébio] was black. This club, the last thing that it is, is racist. If in his mind there was something in relation to that, this is Benfica."
Mourinho faced widespread condemnation for those remarks, yet never genuinely retracted them or acknowledged any wrongdoing. Still, Pérez appears unconcerned about potentially placing him in charge of a predominantly Black squad, with Vinicius Jr at its core.
Forcing the two to coexist is a catastrophe in the making, and if recent years have taught us anything, it is that Real Madrid's fortunes rise and fall with Vinicius Jr.