When Jose Mourinho got sacked by Fenerbahce in 2025 before returning to Benfica for a second stint, no one at the time would have imagined the prospect of him returning to Real Madrid would even be a possibility.
Since 2015, Mourinho has not won a single domestic league title, and has not registered a single Champions League knockout stage win since 2014. So you can understand why he was far from anyone’s expectations to ever be a Real Madrid manager again.
Well, everyone except club President Florentino Perez, who believes he is the right man to steer Los Blancos back to the recent success of 2024, the last time the club won a major trophy.
Even if his initial tenure in Madrid between 2010 and 2013 saw him win two major titles, including the record-breaking 100-point La Liga title in 2011-12, his tenure was volatile. Yet Perez believes he is the man for the job.
Read More: 5 Reasons Florentino Perez Brought Jose Mourinho Back to Real Madrid
Why Florentino Perez Turned Back to Mourinho
Following their 2024 Champions League success under Carlo Ancelotti, the club experienced two consecutive seasons of domestic and European shortfalls.
Internal instability has surfaced recently. In May, a training-ground altercation between Federico Valverde and Aurelien Tchouameni highlighted tensions within the dressing room, leading to significant €500,000 (£432,100) fines for both players following a disciplinary review.
Subsequent managerial attempts by Xabi Alonso and Alvaro Arbeloa struggled to establish firm authority over a squad featuring superstar talents like Jude Bellingham, Vinicius Junior, and Kylian Mbappe.
Historically, Perez’s Galactico blueprint has elevated star players while favoring more player-friendly, non-confrontational managers such as Vicente del Bosque, Zinedine Zidane, and Ancelotti.
Short-lived appointments like Julen Lopetegui in 2018, which lasted 138 days, underscore how quickly tactical reboots can be abandoned when results falter.
What Mourinho’s First Real Madrid Spell Tells Us
During his first Madrid spell, Mourinho's confrontations with squad leaders like Iker Casillas, Sergio Ramos, and Cristiano Ronaldo created a high-tension environment.
While it delivered a Copa del Rey and a La Liga title over Guardiola's Barcelona, there was persistent internal friction.
In the current era, dominated by possession-heavy setups and intense counter-pressing systems, questions remain regarding how Mourinho’s traditional low-block, transition-focused methods align with Real Madrid's current profile.
Applying a rigid tactical approach to players accustomed to creative freedom, such as Trent Alexander-Arnold at full-back, presents clear tactical challenges.
Furthermore, recent interactions require careful navigation. During a Champions League encounter between Benfica and Real Madrid, comments made following the incident involving Vinicius Junior and Gianlucca Prestianni generated public discussion.
Although sources close to the player indicate no opposition to a prospective appointment, it highlights the intense scrutiny surrounding Mourinho's public communications.
In fact, Vinicius Jr has agreed to a new six-year deal at the club, snubbing interest from Arsenal in the process, indicating that there is no bad blood between the two parties.
Given Mourinho was Benfica manager at the time, you cannot blame him for defending the institution he was actually contracted to at the time, which has long been a feature of Mourinho’s management by creating an “us vs the world” kind of culture.
Long-Term Solution or Short-Term Spark?
Mourinho’s official return to the Santiago Bernabeu offers two distinct possibilities:
1. Like Carlo Ancelotti, who left an average Everton side to return to Madrid in 2021 while many assumed his best days were behind him, Mourinho could unify the dressing room, streamline defensive structures, and maximises the transition speed of Mbappe and Vinicius Jr to challenge for trophies again.
He was able to turn Ronaldo into the goalscoring machine he became, and optimised other stars like Angel Di Maria, Mesut Ozil, Sergio Ramos and Pepe into performing well during that famous 2011-2012 season.
2. The high-intensity, Us-against-Them dynamic wears down the squad prematurely, leading to friction with club leadership and repeating the short-cycle exits we have become accustomed to seeing of Mourinho’s time at clubs.
While a mid-season appointment to shock an underperforming squad into immediate focus carries clear logic, hiring Mourinho as the foundation for a long-term cultural reset in 2026 presents major risks. High drama is guaranteed; sustained tactical success remains to be seen.
