Benfica officially announced the departure of José Mourinho from the Portuguese club’s technical command. The announcement was made in a statement confirming Real Madrid’s intention to pay the coach’s release clause. Known as ‘The Special One’, the coach leaves the Lisbon club after 45 official games, in which he recorded 27 wins, 10 draws and 8 defeats. Now, the Portuguese coach faces the challenge of recovering a team that ended the season without winning titles.
With his departure from his former club now official, the countdown has begun for José Mourinho’s arrival at the Santiago Bernabéu offices and his presentation as Real Madrid’s new coach. The Portuguese coach has already started to outline his plans for the new project, when he participated in a meeting this Tuesday at the Hotel Santo Mauro with Juni Calafat, director of international football and scout at Real Madrid, and the club’s general director, José Ángel Sánchez.
The next steps unfolded throughout this Tuesday at the Bernabéu. First, the contract of the current coach, Álvaro Arbeloa, was terminated. And now, a few hours later, came the Lisbon club’s announcement about José Mourinho’s departure. The announcement of Real Madrid’s new coach, therefore, is just a matter of hours.
Creation of the new model
José Mourinho, who must sign a contract for three seasons, now needs to assemble his new squad, and speculation about possible signings has already begun. The priority, based on Real Madrid’s first moves, is to reinforce the defense. Florentino Pérez announced the arrival of Konaté and Dumfries during the election campaign, and a left-back will certainly follow. Names like Gvardiol and Calafiori are among those listed.
The Portuguese coach begins his second spell at Real Madrid, a club that welcomes him with a mixture of euphoria and skepticism regarding a figure who will certainly not go unnoticed on the bench at the Santiago Bernabéu.
