Real Madrid plan to announce the return of José Mourinho as coach next Sunday or Monday when the LaLiga season ends, sources have told ESPN.
Madrid host Athletic Club at the Bernabéu on Saturday at 9 p.m. Spanish time, in their last game of the 2025-26 campaign.
ESPN reported on Monday that Mourinho — previously in charge at Madrid between 2010 and 2013 — had agreed on a two-year contract to return to the Spanish capital, and was already saying his goodbyes at current club Benfica.
Madrid have had a disappointing season, finishing second to champions Barcelona in LaLiga and being eliminated in the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals, to make it two years in a row without a major trophy.
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Álvaro Arbeloa was appointed in January to replace Xabi Alonso, but neither coach was able to meet expectations.
Club president Florentino Pérez has now turned to Mourinho, who he praised last week for “increasing Madrid’s competitiveness” in the coach’s first spell, and building the foundations for the club’s subsequent success.
Sources told ESPN that Pérez is so set on appointing Mourinho that Madrid’s presidential elections are not expected to lead him to delay the announcement.
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Pérez called elections last week, with potential candidates having until this Saturday, May 23, to enter the race.
Pérez has already said he will stand for re-election, while businessman Enrique Riquelme said on Monday that he would decide “in two or three days” if he wanted to stand.
If Pérez faces no opposition, he will be re-elected automatically; if Riquelme were to stand and be adjudged to meet the requirements set out by the club’s statutes, a two-week election campaign would follow.
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Sources told ESPN that Pérez was therefore considering including a clause in Mourinho’s contract which would allow Riquelme, were he to win those elections, to opt not to stick with the Portuguese coach and move onto another candidate.
ESPN reported on Monday that Mourinho had verbally agreed on a deal to take over at Madrid, although the paperwork was yet to be signed.
Since leaving the Bernabéu in 2013, Mourinho coached Chelsea, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur, AS Roma and Fenerbahce before taking charge of Benfica last September.
