While he remains to be president Florentino Perez’s favorite candidate for the coaching role, Jose Mourinho has reportedly made two demands to complete his return to Real Madrid. The search for Real Madrid‘s next head coach is already underway, with Florentino Perez reportedly zeroing in on Jose Mourinho as his preferred choice to lead the club. However, an agreement is far from imminent, with reports now revealing the two conditions the Portuguese manager has put forward before he will entertain taking the role.
Following Xabi Alonso’s dismissal, Alvaro Arbeloa has struggled to maintain authority over a fractured dressing room, with a string of controversies exposing deep tensions within the squad. Brawls involving Alvaro Carreras and Antonio Rudiger, the reported incident in which Aurelien Tchouameni sent Federico Valverde to the hospital, and Kylian Mbappe’s unauthorized trips out of Spain have all contributed to a squad environment that has steadily eroded the interim coach’s standing.
As recently reported by The Athletic, Real Madrid‘s president Florentino Perez has identified Jose Mourinho as his top target for the head coaching position heading into next season. While other names, including Mauricio Pochettino, Jürgen Klopp and Massimiliano Allegri, have been mentioned, reports indicate that preliminary discussions have already taken place between the club and Mourinho’s representatives.
Mourinho dismisses Real Madrid contact
Currently at Benfica, Mourinho is focused on finishing the 2025-26 campaign with a Champions League qualification spot, with the club sitting third and two points behind Sporting CP. The swirling speculation about a potential return to Real Madrid, the club he managed between 2010 and 2013, has already reached him and the press in Portugal.
Head coach Jose Mourinho of Real Madrid back in 2012.
At his pre-match press conference ahead of Benfica’s game against Braga on Sunday, Mourinho flatly denied any contact with Real Madrid: “I want to clarify one thing. In football, it is not the professionals who decide if they have an interest in leaving or staying. When something happens, it is the clubs that show interest and initiate—or don’t—the procedures to sign the people they want. There is continued talk about Real Madrid, and I continue to sincerely avoid the subject. I have had no contact with the president or any other club director.”
Mourinho also made clear the terms under which he would be willing to explore his options after the season concludes. “At the end of the season, I don’t talk to anyone. I haven’t had any contact with Real Madrid and I won’t have any until after the final league match against Estoril. After that, there is a one-week period in which I will have the freedom to speak with whomever I deem appropriate,” he explained.
Mourinho’s demands to become Real Madrid’s next coach
Mourinho signed with Benfica in September 2025 on a contract running through June 2027, which reportedly includes a release clause worth three million euros, active for a ten-day window following the club’s final game of the season. Despite that, Real Madrid’s leadership is intent on pursuing him, though the Portuguese coach has already outlined what he would need before agreeing to return to the Spanish capital.
According to Diario AS, Mourinho’s first demand is to have meaningful input on the club’s transfer strategy, not in terms of naming specific targets, but in identifying the positions that need to be strengthened. His early assessment of the squad has led him to conclude that the current group is significantly unbalanced across different areas of the pitch, with the midfield standing out as the most pressing area of concern.
Coach Jose Mourinho (C) of Real Madrid instructs his players during a training session.
The second condition, as reported by the Spanish outlet, relates to the structure and authority within the club. While Mourinho is mindful of Real Madrid’s institutional hierarchy, he is insistent that the first-team’s footballing decisions fall exclusively within the remit of him and his coaching staff, eager to avoid the kind of institutional friction that reportedly undermined the relationship between the club and Vinicius Junior during Alonso’s tenure.