Two days after the exit of Alvaro Arbeloa was made official, Real Madrid have made the appointment of Jose Mourinho official. The return of the Portuguese manager comes 13 years later, and has been an open secret for much of the last month.
Last week Benfica notified the stock market that Real Madrid intended to pay his €15m release clause, and on Tuesday confirmed they had done so. Shortly afterwards, Los Blancos announced that Arbeloa had left the club by mutual agreement. Following a board meeting on Thursday, Real Madrid ratified his appointment until 2029, on a three-year deal, at the same time as they confirmed President Florentino Perez’s re-election until 2030. They say Mourinho will begin on the 13th of July, the first day of preseason, but he is already having an impact on their transfer decisions.
Mourinho: An appointment driven by Florentino Perez
Perez had confirmed that Mourinho would be his manager if he was re-elected, and it has been an open secret that he would be returning for the past month. While it has been suggested that General Manager Jose Angel Sanchez pushed for the signing of Xabi Alonso, Perez was firmly behind bringing back Mourinho, who during the election campaign he explained had ‘made Real Madrid competitive again’. In his eyes, the Portuguese coach set the platform for Los Blancos historic run of Champions League victories.
Mourinho’s first spell at Real Madrid
During his first spell at Real Madrid, Mourinho only managed two major trophies in three seasons, winning a single league and a Copa del Rey in his time. During that league win, Real Madrid set the record for a points total of 100, and given he helped put an end to the run success authored by Pep Guardiola at Barcelona, Mourinho still holds the affection of many Madridistas, including Perez, albeit he lost some along the way for divisive attitude and tactics.
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