Alvaro Arbeloa eventually took over from Alonso, but Real remained unstable under his command. His first match ended in humiliation: a Copa del Rey exit at the hands of second-tier Albacete. In La Liga, the gap to eventual champions Barcelona grew week by week, while in the Champions League they were eliminated in the quarter-finals by Bayern Munich. As a result, it is widely accepted that Arbeloa will leave the Bernabéu at the end of the season.
Jose Mourinho is widely tipped as the favourite to take over; according to Belgian transfer expert Sacha Tavolieri, the move is already a done deal. The Portuguese had previously managed Real Madrid between 2010 and 2013 and is currently in charge at Benfica Lisbon.
Perez, however, played down the speculation: "That's not true. Do I like Mourinho? I like all managers. He was with us and raised our level of performance. After that, we won six European Cups in ten years," the 79-year-old said.
"I get a lot of messages. Some advise me to hire Mourinho, and others tell me I shouldn't even think about it. I don't reply to any of them," Perez added, stressing yet again that—despite reports to the contrary—he does not decide on coaching appointments alone.