The cat is out of the bag – Jose Mourinho will be Florentino Perez’s Real Madrid coach.
The rumours were strong enough as it was, but Perez has now made the announcement in a video, although Mourinho says it was AI and without his knowledge.
Yet reports in Spain and Portugal confirm that Mourinho has agreed to become Madrid manager, signing an agreement for a three year deal, which could in fact be two years with the option of a third.
Why hasn’t Mourinho been announced yet?
Therein lies the first question that needs answering – Perez has announced Mourinho as his Madrid coach, but Mourinho isn’t yet Madrid coach.
That’s because presidential elections are currently taking place, and Perez has had to step down from his role to run again.
As such, he can’t make any moves in the footballing department until his likely win on June 7th.
Why the elections are a problem for Mourinho’s move to Madrid
Mourinho had a clause in his two-year Benfica contract which allowed him to speak to other clubs during a 10-day window after the final match of the season.
Any team could have signed him in that period for just €3million.
Madrid tried to, however, Perez didn’t expect to be challenged in the election.
Enrique Riquelme stepped up to run against him, meaning the deal couldn’t be done.
Perez now has to wait until after his likely win, but now the €3m clause has already expired and Mourinho is in the second year of his contract at Benfica.
Madrid will now have to pay €15m to sign the coach, something they kicked up a fuss about before finally agreeing.
What happens to Mourinho if Perez doesn’t win the elections?
In the unlikely event that Riquelme beats Perez on June 7th, Mourinho is in big trouble.
Riquelme has already stated that Mourinho won’t be his coach in multiple interviews.
He commented again last night: “He’s a good coach, but our project has a completely different style. I don’t like Mourinho for my project.
“I have another coach in mind. I can’t say his name, but he’s perhaps the biggest star in the world after the Real Madrid players.”
Mourinho is still Benfica coach
Should that situation come to pass, Benfica are in big trouble.
Mourinho is yet to formerly reject a new contract from Benfica president Rui Costa and remains employed by the Eagles.
Benfica have reportedly agreed a deal with Marco Silva as his replacement, and Silva has resigned at Fulham.
However, should Perez lose the election, Benfica will end up being the ones who have to pay a costly fee if they want to replace Mourinho for Silva.
Do Real Madrid fans want Mourinho?
To make matters worse for Perez and Madrid, his high stakes move could still backfire.
Mourinho has won just a single trophy in the last nine years and isn’t exactly popular from his 2013 Bernabeu departure.
A poll from MARCA has found that 79% of fans don’t believe Mourinho’s signing is enough to convince fans to vote for him.
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