Jose Mourinho has not managed a top, Champions League title-winning calibre club since his second spell at Chelsea came to an end in 2015.
The prevailing theory has been the game has passed the 63-year-old by. Yet after time at Manchester United, Tottenham, Roma, Fenerbahce, and Benfica, it appears he is set to return to Real Madrid for a dramatic second spell at the Bernabeu.
Multiple reports, including the BBC, claim that Real Madrid are closing in on the stunning appointment of Jose Mourinho as their head coach beginning at the start of the 2026-27 season.
The Sporting News explains why they have turned to a former Real Madrid manager in Mourinho, what happened last time he was at the club, and what he won while in charge of Los Blancos.
Why are Real Madrid rehiring Jose Mourinho?
Real Madrid are in crisis mode. They have now gone two seasons without a single major trophy, leading to multiple managers being sacked and a dressing room that is rife with toxicity.
As the 2025/26 season comes to a close, a new manager must be found to lead the club forward after the 2026 World Cup. Xabi Alonso faltered without backing from club management, and Alvaro Arbeloa has not managed to restore either the on-field results or the dressing room harmony.
Despite a host of other top-tier managers likely to be available this summer, especially after the World Cup, Real Madrid president Florentino Perez is moving now to shore up the open managerial position.
While the tactical side of the game has evolved leaps and bounds since Mourinho was in charge of a squad with Champions League title-winning talent, his man-management skills are likely what Perez is after most. The "Special One" is known for his big, often fiery personality that looms large in a dressing room.
Mourinho can command an audience as well as anyone in football, and his pedigree speaks volumes. Amidst rumors of a fractured squad at Real Madrid, Perez is likely hoping Mourinho can bring the team together and push them to compete as a unit once again.
At a unique, player-prioritized club like Real Madrid, they require a special kind of leadership. Mourinho has intimate knowledge of the club having managed them previously, and his larger-than-life aura is, in Perez's mind, the greatest candidate to work his magic in Madrid.
Why did Jose Mourinho leave Real Madrid the first time?
Jose Mourinho was hired at Real Madrid in the summer of 2010 straight off the back of winning the Champions League with Inter Milan.
Considered the perfect "Galactico" coach to helm the club, Mourinho won multiple domestic trophies at Real Madrid, including a record-breaking La Liga title in 201-12 in which his side set the record for most points in a single Spanish top flight campaign as well as a number of other high-water marks.
Yet Mourinho's Madrid side fell short in the Champions League, falling in the semifinals all three seasons he spent at the Bernabeu. They fell to Barcelona in 2010-11, losing 2-0 at home in a damaging El Clasico defeat before a 1-1 draw on the road failed to get them over the hump. Then, subsequent defeats to Bayern Munich (on penalites) and Borussia Dortmund saw them ousted in the final four three consecutive seasons.
Rifts began to build with senior Real Madrid players Iker Casillas and Sergio Ramos, and even superstar Cristiano Ronaldo. As the controversial moments built up — such as poking then-Barcelona assistant Tito Vilanova in the eye on the touchline of a Clasico, or complaining about the referees, or clashes with journalists — the pressure built to an unsustainable level.
Some of those wounds can still be seen today. Casillas, who retired in 2020, posted on social media that while he "has no problem with Mourinho," he does not believe he is the right choice to coach Real Madrid,
Jose Mourinho trophies won as a coach
Considered one of the most accomplished coaches in modern football history, Jose Mourinho has won a massive haul of trophies across many different competitions.
He has won top flight domestic league titles in Portugal, England, Italy, and Spain, lifting every domestic competition he has managed in at least once except for that in Turkey. He has also won 10 domestic Cup competitions, while winning two Champions League titles and three other European crowns. He is the only manager in UEFA history to date to have won all three major UEFA competitions.
Club Competition Trophies won Seasons
Porto Primeira Liga 2 2002-03, 2003-04
Taca de Portugal 1 2002-03
UEFA Champions League 1 2003-04
UEFA Cup 1 2002-03
Chelsea Premier League 3 2004-05, 2005-06, 2014-15
FA Cup 1 2006-07
EFL Cup 3 2004-05, 2006-07, 2014-15
Community Shield 1 2005
Inter Milan Serie A 2 2008-09, 2009-10
Coppa Italia 1 2009-10
Supercoppa Italiana 1 2008
UEFA Champions League 1 2009-10
Real Madrid La Liga 1 2011-12
Copa del Rey 1 2010-11
Supercopa de Espana 1 2012
Man United EFL Cup 1 2016-17
Community Shield 1 2016
UEFA Europa League 1 2016-17
AS Roma UEFA Conference League 1 2021-22
Did Jose Mourinho play football?
Jose Mourinho did play football professionally for a brief time, earning occasional Cup minutes for Portuguese club Rio Ave which was managed by his father Felix Mourinho from 1980-82. However, with the club president overruling a decision to play Jose, fearing nepotism, the duo left and joined Belenenses.
He would not register any league appearances for either club, and would not make his professional league debut until he joined lower-tier side Sesimbra in 1983, spending two seasons there plus another two at Comercio e Industria.
He would retire in 1987 to focus solely on coaching.