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Real Madrid is bringing backmost José Mourinho for a 2nd stint immoderate 13 years aft helium near the club, the Spanish powerhouse said Thursday (June 11, 2026).
The Portuguese manager joins connected a three-year declaration and volition officially instrumentality complaint connected July 13, erstwhile the preseason starts, the nine said.
Mourinho near nary 1 successful Spain indifferent to his abrasive, yet undeniably successful, managerial benignant erstwhile helium archetypal coached Madrid from 2010 to 2013.
During his archetypal run, helium led Madrid to a Spanish league rubric and a Copa del Rey crown. Yet helium is much remembered for his confrontational property that ended up splitting his ain squad and alienating each but the astir hardcore fans, arsenic good arsenic a ample portion of the section media.
He volition present inherit an underachieving squad and rejoin a nine successful disarray.
Unsteady Madrid
Madrid hasn’t won a large rubric successful 2 years with superstar striker Kylian Mbappé connected board. The nine went done 2 coaches successful Xabi Alonso and Álvaro Arbeloa this season.
The grounds 15-time European Cup winners person moreover been embarrassed by bid of unseemly events. There was a combat betwixt players, fans jeering the team, and players questioning Arbeloa's decisions.
Club president Florentino Pérez added to the consciousness of a nine successful situation by giving a property league to denote helium would telephone aboriginal elections, which helium past won, portion blasting the media for what helium considered a run to unit him to quit.
Pérez's re-election paved the mode for Mourinho's return.
Mourinho famously proclaimed himself arsenic “a peculiar one” implicit 2 decades agone erstwhile helium was introduced arsenic Chelsea’s coach, having led FC Porto to a astonishing Champions League rubric successful 2004.
He lived up that boastful claim, making Chelsea a Premier League champion earlier helium steered Inter Milan to the 2010 Champions League title, beating a seemingly unstoppable Barcelona en way to the final.
Stormy archetypal stint
That convinced Pérez that Mourinho was the perfect manager to topple a Barcelona led by Pep Guardiola and Lionel Messi successful La Liga.
The rivalry betwixt Mourinho and Guardiola took the contests betwixt their clubs to caller heights.
Following a 2011 decision to Barcelona, Mourinho outraged Barcelona supporters, and galore neutral ones, by saying helium “would beryllium ashamed” to triumph a Champions League similar Guardiola did, claiming Barcelona was favored by the referees. Mourinho adjacent got physical, poking an adjunct manager of Guardiola successful the oculus during a scuffle betwixt their teams aboriginal that year.
But aft winning the 2012 La Liga title, Madrid and Mourinho parted ways successful 2013 with 3 years near connected his contract. That followed a daze nonaccomplishment successful the Copa del Rey last to Atletico Madrid and with media reports of him falling retired with immoderate of his players similar instrumentality favourite Iker Casillas.
Now 63, Mourinho has mislaid his presumption of being a serial champion who lone coaches the elite clubs.
His superb vocation has dimmed aft a frustrating spell astatine Manchester United from 2016-2018. Since then, helium has coached astatine Tottenham, Roma, Fenerbahce, and, past season, Benfica.
His lone trophy since leaving United was the 2022 Conference League, Europe’s third-tier competition, won with Roma.
But it seems that Pérez believes Mourinho’s acquisition and his beardown property are conscionable what Madrid needs to instrumentality connected a Barcelona broadside that is erstwhile again ascendant acknowledgment to its caller talisman, Lamine Yamal.
