Ronaldo cried and insulted Benzema.. Is Mourinho a disease or a cure for Real Madrid?

Portuguese manager Jose Mourinho is close to returning to Real Madrid, and if his contract is up, he will replace current coach Alvaro Arbeloa after a difficult season at all levels, be it technical, moral or disciplinary.

Behind the decision is Royals president Florentino Perez, who is trying to restore order to a dressing room that has been in complete chaos, recently marked by a series of arguments and disagreements involving a number of players in the team besides Arbeloa.

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But there is an obvious historical paradox in Mourinho’s choice for this position, as Perez sees in him a coach with a strong personality and the ability to restore calm and balance to the team, forgetting that his first period (2010-2013) witnessed public disagreements and clashes with some of the Merengue stars.

Among the most prominent of these crises is that between Mourinho and Real Madrid’s historic goalkeeper Iker Casillas, whom the Portuguese coach accused of betrayal and leakage, especially after the goalkeeper took the initiative to contact Barcelona stars to calm the atmosphere in order to protect the Spanish national team.

Mourinho considered this diplomatic behavior a stab in the back, so he decided to marginalize the leader and replace him with Antonio Adani and then Diego Lopez.

As revealed in the investigative report of the newspaper “El Pais” The Spanish newspaper noted that Mourinho’s final advice to Perez before his departure was to get rid of Casillas to ensure the success of any succeeding coach.

Recently, Casillas confirmed the continuation of this rift, saying via his account on website X: “I don’t want him (Mourinho) at Real Madrid… I think other coaches will be better qualified to lead the club of my life.”

Confrontation with Ramos

Mourinho’s first-term vice-captain Sergio Ramos was not immune to psychological warfare. In January 2012, the newspaper was bombed “Brand” A Spanish newspaper has sprung a major surprise by publishing details of a heated secret meeting in the Valdebebas dressing room after the El Clasico defeat in which Mourinho accused the Spanish players of bullying the press.

When the Portuguese coach blamed Ramos for Puyol’s goal, saying: “It was your duty to control Puyol,” the former Real Madrid star responded, “The intervention of the defenders forced a change of marking at that moment”, so Mourinho accused him of playing the role of coach.

Here is the tough and direct answer of Ramos. “Because of the fast-paced game situations, we sometimes have to switch roles … and because you’ve never worn shorts as a professional footballer, you don’t know that stuff happens on the pitch.”

Ramos maintained his stance of rejecting the Portuguese’s legacy, later telling the media that Mourinho was not worthy of the team’s future European success. On the contrary, “he left nothing but separation.”

Ronaldo is crying

Even Real Madrid’s all-time leading scorer Cristiano Ronaldo has had his share of Mourinho’s iron fist. In an interview with the newspaper “Corriere della Sera” Italian-Croatian midfielder Luka Modric has revealed a shocking incident in the dressing room during the 2012-2013 season, confirming that he witnessed with his own eyes how Mourinho and Ronaldo broke down in tears in the dressing room because of one shot in which he did not pursue the opponent’s right back.

Mourinho then had harsh words for Ronaldo in front of his teammates, saying: “I will say it to your face. You complain and grumble that we play defensively, but do you know why we play like this? Because of you. Because you don’t want to protect or cover the lane, which makes me want to force the entire team to retreat to protect you while you’re content.

Relations soured to the point that television cameras later caught Ronaldo shouting obscenities in Portuguese at the bench where Mourinho was present as he celebrated his 200th goal for the Royals.

French striker Karim Benzema was also subjected to harsh public ridicule when Mourinho quipped to the Spanish media:

In that comparison, the Portuguese coach meant Benzema and his other attacking partner, Gonzalo Higuain.

Even defender Pepe, Mourinho’s right-hand man, was left out and marginalized shortly after declaring solidarity with Casillas.

These historical facts suggest that Mourinho’s approach to imposing discipline is not one of containment and bridge-building, but rather a confrontational approach that fragments team unity and incites division, which could turn Perez’s medicine into a disease and make hiring the Portuguese coach a risky bet.