Jose Mourinho at Real Madrid? Why the Portuguese manager could be the ultimate wildcard

Real do not have a manager for next season.

Arbeloa has a year left on his contract but it is clear chairman Perez is looking elsewhere for a new boss.

While Perez praised the positives of Arbeloa’s tenure, the results dictated the decisions at the Bernabeu.

But to understand who they will hire, you first need to understand how Perez thinks.

Perez doesn’t care about style of play. He doesn’t lose sleep over tactical identification or whether his team sits high in pressure or deep. All he cares about is winning, and more than that, managing.

Arrogance, stars, managing the dressing room.

For Perez, the ideal manager is a conductor.

There is a recurring tension between the two schools of thought at the Bernabeu. On the one hand, the club’s number two, Jose Angel Sanchez, argues that Real need an organiser, a tactically rigorous coach who can impose order on a talented but disorganized squad.

That thinking has produced appointments like Rafa Benitez, Julen Lopetegui and, most recently, Alonso. None of these lasted more than a few months. The president was never behind them, and when the results excused him, they left.

On the other side sits Perez’s own favourite: the grand manager, the touchline elite, someone whose mere presence commands respect in the dressing room. Think Zinedine Zidane. Carlo Ancelotti, think twice. The template that Perez falls back on when he runs out of patience.

With Alonso gone, the presidential line wins again. And the names considered reflect exactly that.

Now the name making headlines – Jose Mourinho.

People at the club suggest that he is not necessarily the only name on the list. The Mourinho option is largely driven by Perez himself… and the Portuguese manager.

Perez likes to throw ideas out there and see what response they get.

Mourinho is under contract with Benfica until 2027 but can opt out and whatever he says publicly, my understanding is that he is desperate to return to the Bernabeu.

Time is his behavior The case of Gianluca Prestiani The fans at the Bernabeu, including the president, did not miss him in the Benfica-Real Madrid Champions League clash.

This is the ultimate wildcard – the president is looking for a name he knows, a man who can dominate the dressing room, a manager whose second spell at Madrid will already be a statement.

But sources inside the camp say that will happen only if other options fail.