Real Madrid officially announces Jose Mourinho as its new manager

Real Madrid appointed Jose Mourinho as coach on a three-year deal on Thursday, with the Portuguese veteran making a sensational return to the Spanish capital after 13 years.

The 63-year-old replaces Alvaro Arbeloa after Madrid finished a second straight season without a major trophy and fell behind domestic rivals Barcelona.

“(Real Madrid have) agreed to appoint Jose Mourinho as head coach of the first team for the next three seasons, until June 30, 2029,” the 15-time European champions said in a statement.

«Jose Mourinho will come to Real Madrid on July 13, the day the pre-season starts.»

Mourinho, one of football’s most successful and divisive managers, joins from Benfica, where the Lisbon club completed an unbeaten league campaign but finished third.

Benfica said on Wednesday that Real Madrid will pay 15 million euros for the Portuguese coach.

Mourinho managed Madrid between 2010 and 2013, winning La Liga, the Copa del Rey and the Spanish Super Cup during an intense period of rivalry with Pep Guardiola’s golden-era Barcelona.

Real Madrid became the first club to reach 100 points in a La Liga season under Mourinho in 2011/12, although Barcelona did the same in the following season before Mourinho left.

Mourinho divided the Real Madrid dressing room, with some players – including predecessor Arbeloa – fiercely loyal to him, while others were at odds with the coach.

Mourinho is known for ruling with an iron fist and has been accused of controlling the egos of the Real Madrid dressing room after multiple conflicts and problems marked a troubled season.

Madrid midfielder Fede Valverde was treated in hospital in May after an altercation with teammate Aurelien Tchouameni, among other flashpoints.

Coaches Carlo Ancelotti, Xabi Alonso and Arbeloa also could not find a way to successfully use star players Vinicius Junior, Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham together without destabilizing the team’s balance.

In an appearance on Spanish television earlier in May, Madrid president Florentino Perez credited Mourinho with building Real Madrid’s last six Champions League titles in the years since the Portuguese left.

The boss said he would bring Mourinho back if he was re-elected president earlier in June, which he was.

Back at the top

Mourinho’s return to Madrid also marks a leap back into Europe’s elite after several years away from the sport’s pinnacle.

The coach came into the spotlight when he won the Champions League with Porto in 2004, before helping Chelsea claim back-to-back Premier League titles in 2005 and 2006.

Mourinho branded himself a ‘special player’ as his team dominated the English top flight before guiding Inter Milan to Champions League glory in 2010 as part of a unique treble for an Italian side.

Madrid chief Perez appointed him to try to hold off Guardiola’s powerful Barca team, which he succeeded to some extent, during a difficult period that also disrupted harmony in the Spanish national team.

Mourinho returned to Chelsea and won the Premier League in 2015, before modest spells at the likes of Manchester United, Tottenham and Roma.

He won the EFL Cup and Europa League with Manchester United in 2017 and has since only lifted the Conference League trophy with Roma in 2022.

The coach was sacked by Turkish side Fenerbahce in August 2025 after failing to get past Benfica in a Champions League qualifier, before being appointed by the Portuguese team the following month.

Published on June 11, 2026