Real Madrid are discussing the possibility of hiring Benfica's Jose Mourinho as their new head coach with his agent, Jorge Mendes, reports soccer insider Fabrizio Romano.
Benfica are reportedly aware of the situation and will earn €3 million net from Real Madrid if he leaves due to a clause in his contract. The veteran Portuguese coach is "very keen" on returning to Los Blancos and believes his job is "unfinished" there, Romano adds.
Florentino Perez is reportedly campaigning to bring Mourinho back to the Bernabeu, and Romano says the long-standing club president will have the final say on who's hired to succeed Alvaro Arbeloa. The incumbent boss replaced Xabi Alonso in January, but he's widely expected to leave at the end of the season after failing to improve the team's fortunes.
Real Madrid are headed toward back-to-back campaigns without winning La Liga, the Copa del Rey, or the Champions League for the first time since the 2008-09 and 2009-10 seasons. Mourinho's previous reign at Real Madrid started in the summer of 2010, and he subsequently won one La Liga title, the Copa del Rey, and the Supercopa de Espana. The team fell in the Champions League semifinals each of his three seasons at the helm.
Mourinho will inherit a fractured dressing room if he takes over at Real Madrid.
There were reportedly two heated altercations at the training ground in April; one was between Kylian Mbappe and a member of the coaching staff, while the other involved Antonio Rudiger and a teammate. Left-back Alvaro Carreras was widely reported to be the Real Madrid player who had a disagreement with Rudiger, according to BBC Sport's Elizabeth Conway.
Federico Valverde suffered a head injury Thursday and will miss Sunday's match against Barcelona due to what he described as a "run-in" with a teammate. Aurelien Tchouameni reportedly fought with Valverde at Real Madrid's training base Wednesday and Thursday. The club fined the two players €500,000 each Friday following an internal investigation.
