Jose Mourinho has signed a three-year contract to return as the head coach of Real Madrid.
The 63-year-old Portuguese manager will not be officially unveiled until after the club’s presidential election on June 7. Furthermore, the agreement remains valid only if the incumbent president, 79-year-old Florentino Perez, retains his position.
Perez, who has held office since 2009, called the election during an extraordinary press conference earlier this month amid criticism of the media and La Liga. While renewables tycoon Enrique Riquelme is challenging Perez in the club's first contested election in 20 years, the incumbent president is widely tipped to win.
Mourinho leaves Portuguese side Benfica, where he took charge last September and secured a third-place finish in the Primeira Liga this season. He will replace Alvaro Arbeloa, who took over interim duties in January following Xabi Alonso's exit.
Real Madrid endured a disappointing, trophyless 2025–26 campaign. Arch-rivals Barcelona clinched the La Liga title with a 2-0 El Clasico victory, while German champions Bayern Munich knocked Los Blancos out of the Champions League quarterfinals with a 6-4 aggregate win.
During his highly competitive first stint at the Santiago Bernabeu between 2010 and 2013, Mourinho led Real Madrid to a La Liga title, a Copa del Rey and a Spanish Super Cup. His storied career since then includes managerial stints at Chelsea, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur, AS Roma where he won the Europa Conference League in 2022 and Turkish side Fenerbahce before his brief run at Benfica.
