Real Madrid Legend Sends Clear Message About Jose Mourinho Return

Real Madrid legend Jorge Valdano has hit out at the return of José Mourinho as the club’s manager, questioning why the club have returned to the man who left the job 13 years ago.

Mourinho was appointed Madrid manager for a second time this summer, having previously departed after a three-year spell from 2010–2013.

Mourinho’s Madrid went toe-to-toe with Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona and won a record-breaking La Liga title in the 2011–12 season, though European glory evaded Los Blancos. Ultimately, Mourinho’s first stint in the Spanish capital ended in acrimony and the team finished his final season without a trophy, amid a series of bitter rifts with key figures.

More than a decade on from that chapter and with the club in a similarly low ebb, club president Florentino Pérez has turned back to Mourinho.

‘Only the Club Knows’—Valdano

José Mourinho, Jorge Valdano — Valdano (right) worked with Mourinho during his first spell at Madrid. | DOMINIQUE FAGET/AFP via Getty Images

Mourinho’s return surprised many who view the combustible coach, who has not won a league title since 2015, as a risky appointment from Pérez.

One apparent detractor is Valdano—a player for Madrid in the 1980s who later served in roles as a manager, sporting director and director general. The 70-year-old was candid about Mourinho’s return in an interview with Portuguese newspaper A Bola.

“This is his second chance. Almost fifteen years have passed: football is not the same, society is not the same, Florentino is not the same, and Mourinho certainly won't be the same either. Therefore, we’ll see what the outcome is in this new scenario.” he said.

“Xabi Alonso was a young coach with new methodologies. I don’t know the reasons, but clearly it didn’t work out and Florentino opted for a different type of coach. The truth is that there aren’t that many available to Real Madrid. The options are running out. I don’t know what the thinking is behind bringing José Mourinho back to take on this responsibility again – only the club knows that,” he added.

History Between Valdano and Mourinho

José Mourinho — Mourinho’s return brings up old wounds for some. | Antonio Villalba/Real Madrid/Getty Images

Valdano was the club’s director general and advisor to Pérez during Mourinho’s first spell in charge, but was sacked in 2011 after clashing with the manager over the control of transfers.

At the height of their feud, Valdano told the media: “I am not the one who turned Real Madrid into a battlefield.”

Asked directly by A Bola if he backed Mourinho to succeed at Madrid now, Valdano side-stepped the question: “I am a Real Madrid member: if they represent me well, I will applaud; if they represent me badly, I will keep my distance until a little later. But whatever happens, I will continue to be a Real Madrid member.”

While on his personal conflict with Mourinho, he added: “I’m the least resentful person in the world; conflicts don’t last long for me, I move on very easily.”

Valdano is not the only former colleague who clashed with Mourinho in the past to question the manager’s second coming. Back in May, Iker Casillas posted on X: “I have no problem with Mourinho. He seems like a great professional to me. I don’t want him at Real Madrid.

“I think other coaches would be better equipped to coach at the club of my life. Personal opinion. Nothing more.”

Add us as a preferred source on Google