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Real Madrid presidential hopeful Enrique Riquelme has signaled his intention to chart a different course from Florentino Pérez, casting serious doubt over José Mourinho's anticipated return to the club.
With Álvaro Arbeloa set to depart his role as first-team head coach at the close of this season, Mourinho had widely been tipped to reclaim the position he previously occupied between 2010 and 2013.
The 63-year-old is said to have been in negotiations with current president Pérez, with a two-year agreement reportedly just one signature away from completion.
However, upcoming presidential elections—called unexpectedly and ahead of schedule by Pérez this month—mean any confirmation of the club's next manager must be put on hold until after the vote.
Real Madrid have now officially confirmed that the ballot among their 100,000 members will be held on Sunday, June 7—between 9AM and 8PM CET.
It is widely anticipated that should Pérez—who has gone unchallenged in every election since returning to the Madrid presidency in 2009—win, he will move swiftly to appoint Mourinho as manager.
Riquelme Wants New Blood for Madrid
Yet should Riquelme pull off a surprise win, it appears likely that he would pursue an entirely different path.
In conversation with The Athletic, the 37-year-old green energy tycoon declined to address Mourinho directly as a potential option. Nevertheless, when asked whether his preferred candidate had any prior history at Real Madrid, Riquelme answered simply: "No."
He went on to say: "Real Madrid cannot keep operating with a short-term mindset. This is a moment for genuine change. Of course, everything achieved so far deserves recognition, but our proposal is about building a project for the short, medium and long term under a different model of professionalisation and modernisation."
One name that has frequently been associated with Real Madrid in recent months is Jürgen Klopp. The Champions League-winning former Liverpool boss, who now serves as head of soccer at Red Bull, has not taken charge of a team since departing Anfield in 2024.
When pushed on the German—who is playfully referenced in one of Riquelme's campaign videos—Riquelme said: "We are looking at profiles among the very best coaches in world football—people with the level of experience and leadership required to manage a club like Real Madrid. Naturally, I would love for profiles of that caliber, and others like them, to coach this club.
"I cannot say whether [Klopp] is or is not [an option] at this stage. The sporting professionals currently working within the project are handling those discussions, and I cannot share more than that right now. We will see in the coming days."
New Manager and Signings Finalized
Notably, in a separate interview with COPE, Riquelme revealed that he has already reached an agreement with a prospective manager.
"We finalized the coaching deal before announcing my candidacy," he said, adding that the coach in question "is under contract with a team."
In the same interview, he also pledged to bring in a player from Spain's national squad.
"If I'm president, there will be a Real Madrid player who has played in the World Cup for Spain," he said. "No Real Madrid player will play at the World Cup for Spain, and I, as a Madridista, am devastated. It hurts me. Who will the children of Madridistas, or the Madridistas themselves, or the club members support? What jersey will they wear to the World Cup? Lamine Yamal's. I mean, I really hope we can solve that if I'm president."
Speaking to The Athletic, he also stated that "two signings are already finalized, and several others are being worked on," though he stopped short of identifying the players involved.
Madrid will notably have no representatives in Spain's World Cup squad this year for the first time in history. The club has previously been strongly linked with the likes of Rodri, while Osasuna winger Víctor Muñoz remains attainable via a buyback clause.
Across several recent interviews, Riquelme has also emphasized Real Madrid's need for a sporting director and called for a broader restructuring of the club's sporting hierarchy.