Benfica says goodbye to Mourinho and announces Marco Silva as his replacement

Benfica parted ways with coach Jose Mourinho on Tuesday, who is set to return to Real Madrid, and announced a deal with Fulham boss Marco Silva to replace him.

The Lisbon club said Real Madrid had formalized “their intention to sign Mourinho for a fee of 15 million euros ($17.25 million)” in a statement to Portugal’s financial markets regulator.

The amount corresponds to the release clause in Mourinho’s contract.

Benfica then announced that it had agreed a two-year contract with Silva, who left Fulham last week after five seasons with the Premier League club.

The re-election of Florentino Perez as president of Real Madrid last weekend paved the way for Mourinho to return to the Spanish capital.

Mourinho, 63, first joined Real Madrid in 2010 and spent three seasons at the club.

During his tenure he won one La Liga championship, one Copa del Rey and the Spanish Super Cup during a period of fierce rivalry with Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona.

The appointment of the divisive Mourinho will be a gamble by President Perez after Los Blancos finished without a major trophy in 2025/26, making it a second barren season in a row.

Real Madrid confirmed the departure of coach Alvaro Arbeloa earlier on Tuesday.

Arbeloa, who arrived in January to replace Xabi Alonso, had announced last month that he would leave his post at the end of the season.

Published on June 10, 2026