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When Florentino Pérez called an "emergency" press conference on Tuesday, many anticipated the Real Madrid president would reveal the club's next head coach. However, no such announcement came.
Current boss Álvaro Arbeloa, who was only appointed back in January, is widely expected to be replaced at the conclusion of a deeply disappointing season that will end without silverware. Underwhelming results on the pitch have been further aggravated by explosive reports of training ground altercations and dressing room unrest, casting a shadow of turmoil over the world's most prominent club.
Mourinho, who previously managed Madrid from 2010 to 2013, is considered the leading candidate to take over from Arbeloa, with several reports suggesting negotiations are already well advanced.
Yet there was no Mourinho news on Tuesday, with Pérez instead delivering an occasionally bizarre hour of score-settling, while also announcing that presidential elections would be held this month.
When a journalist directly asked about the 63-year-old current Benfica manager, Pérez simply responded "We're not talking about that right now," as the club's general director José Ángel Sánchez looked on with a smile.
The wait for an official announcement on Mourinho continues, but when might a deal to bring the "Special One" back to the Bernabéu be confirmed?
All Signs Point to a Mourinho D-Day
Mourinho is contracted at Benfica through 2027, and he reportedly has a contract extension offer on the table from club president Rui Costa.
One match remains in the Portuguese season, with Benfica still in contention for Champions League qualification. Remarkably, despite sitting in third place, the Lisbon club could also finish the campaign unbeaten.
As reported by AS, there is a clause in Mourinho's contract permitting him to depart Benfica for €3 million ($3.5 million) within 10 days of the club's final fixture. With Benfica's last game of the 2025–26 season coming away at Estoril on May 16, the deadline for Mourinho's exit clause falls on May 26.
Notably, as AS highlights, this timeline aligns conveniently with Real Madrid's own season finale. Los Blancos wrap up their underwhelming domestic campaign against Athletic Club on May 23. Additionally, should Pérez launch the election process promptly—and secure victory—he would be re-elected in time to make Mourinho's appointment the headline act of his new presidential term.
While Madrid could technically still sign Mourinho from Benfica after the May 26 deadline, any negotiations with the Portuguese club would be more complicated and considerably costlier.
What has Mourinho Said About Madrid Return?
📸 IMAGEN @elchiringuitotv | Mourinho, recién aterrizado en Lisboa tras pasar el día en Londres.
😅 Esa sonrisa cuando le preguntamos por las palabras de Florentino sobre él...
📹 @plazacasals pic.twitter.com/gIbAGQ0Mvk
On Wednesday morning, Mourinho was met by a group of journalists at Lisbon airport, who pressed him with questions about both Pérez's remarks and his own future. The 63-year-old, however, chose not to respond.
Speaking earlier in the week following his side's draw with Braga, Mourinho stopped short of committing to Benfica beyond the season's end.
He told reporters: "The last week of the championship, the last two weeks of the championship, is not for thinking about the future, it's not for thinking about contracts. It's for thinking about the mission we had, which was to perform the miracle of finishing second.
"And when I say miracle, I think you understand what I mean by miracle. And from the moment we entered this final phase of the season, with these games that decided something important for the club, I decided that I didn't want to listen to anyone, that I wanted to be, so to speak, isolated in my workspace.
"And then, as I said a couple of weeks ago, there's a game against Estoril on Saturday, and I think that from Monday onwards I'll be able to answer that question, the question of my future as a coach and the future of Benfica."
He later added: "I continue to say that I haven't spoken to anyone from another club. Now there's talk of Real Madrid, but it could be any other club. I haven't spoken to anyone from any club. But from the moment we entered this final phase of the season, I think it made absolutely no sense to do anything other than concentrate on my job. Starting Sunday, I'll have that opportunity."