Jose Mourinho Sent Five-Word Message by Benfica President Over Real Madrid Job

Mourinho’s former Real Madrid colleague was not overly optimistic about the manager’s impending return.

José Mourinho (left) and Rui Costa may not be working together next season. | Valter Gouveia/NurPhoto/Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images

When confronted with swirling reports that his manager has already agreed to join Real Madrid, Benfica president Rui Costa found himself repeating the same five words: “José Mourinho is Benfica’s coach.”

Mourinho cast considerable doubt over his own future over the weekend when he confirmed that negotiations with Madrid had been opened. The Portuguese coach had not yet accepted any proposal and would first have to judge whether he could fulfil the demands set before him by the club’s embattled president Florentino Pérez.

The day after hearing his manager speak so openly about jumping ship, Costa hunkered down in his own bunker. As a microphone was RTP microphone was thrust in his face while walking through the stadium’s parking lot following Benfica’s women’s team winning the Portuguese cup, there was only one topic of interrogation which concerned the reporter. Costa only had one answer.

“Do you still hope that José Mourinho will stay at Benfica?” the club president was asked. “José Mourinho is Benfica’s coach,” he curtly replied. “Until proven otherwise, José Mourinho is Benfica’s coach.”

When pushed on whether Mourinho would sign the contract extension Benfica had offered him, Costa mused: “That’s up to him to decide, obviously. As for everything else, I’ll speak to Benfica’s members this week, explain the season, and take stock.”

Any talk of Fulham boss Marco Silva potentially taking over from Mourinho was met with a familiar retort from Costa: “Benfica’s coach, until proven otherwise, is José Mourinho.”

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Costa About to Be ‘Proven Otherwise’

José Mourinho has been tipped to return to the Bernabéu. | Gualter Fatia/Getty Images

Mourinho warned that the end of Benfica’s season and the start of a new week would allow him to fully focus on Madrid’s proposal. The Spanish giants have until May 26 to trigger the $3.5 million (€3 million) buyout clause in his Benfica contract and Fabrizio Romano was keen to report on Monday that a “total agreement” had been reached.

There were supposedly “long negotiations” to reach an arrangement which suits all parties but no official announcement has yet been shared.

Madrid still have one La Liga fixture left to play—at home to Athletic Club next Saturday night—and the club may very well wait until the campaign has officially concluded before announcing the end of Álvaro Arbeloa’s tenure.

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‘Mourinho Can’t Fix This Alone’

José Mourinho (left) was appointed Real Madrid manager in 2010 while Jorge Valdano served as general manager. | DOMINIQUE FAGET/AFP via Getty Images

Should Mourinho return Madrid, Jorge Valdano, one of the figures he worked closely with him as the club’s general manager during his first spell in the Spanish capital has warned that “Mourinho can’t fix this alone.”

Valdano has previously come out in support of Mauricio Pochettino as Madrid’s ideal next coach, dismissing Mourinho as a “closed chapter.” However, now that his return appears to be a near certainty, the World Cup winner warned that the Special One would have to be backed by a special transfer window.

“Within Florentino Pérez’s project, which considers soccer a business of heroes, he’s not going to sell the heroes. That’s for sure,” Valdano warned during an appearance on Movistar, seemingly ruling out the prospect of any departures for Kylian Mbappé, Vinicius Junior or Jude Bellingham.

If the swollen pool of attackers isn’t going to be touched, the former striker argued that Madrid should attempt to fix the imbalance in the transfer market. “They need at least four defenders,” he predicted, “and they need a midfielder to give the roster some balance.”

Whatever happens in the transfer window, Valdano foresaw a serene start to Mourinho’s return—he has, after all, first-hand experience of the Portuguese’s pattern of work. “I think Mourinho will arrive with his most seductive side,” he said. ”At the beginning, everything will be very smooth. I think the players will respond well, especially since there’s no World Cup on the horizon. I suppose the preseason will be a bit more demanding, and that will help the squad perform better.

“We’ll see what happens as time goes on and when the defeats come. Whether peace will be possible or if we’ll continue with this somewhat turbulent situation we’ve experienced this season.”

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