Real Madrid Legends Carlo Ancelotti, Iker Casillas Differ Wildly on Jose Mourinho Comeback

The ‘Special One’ is now expected to return to the Bernabéu as manager.

Iker Casillas and Carlo Ancelotti are on opposite sides of the Mourinho debate. | IMAGO / Marca

Carlo Ancelotti has backed his “friend” José Mourinho to succeed at Real Madrid, if he returns as the club’s next manager. However, Iker Casillas is less convinced.

Mourinho is now the overwhelming frontrunner to take the hot seat at the Bernabéu next season, with some reports indicating that the 63-year-old is already in advanced talks over the role.

If appointed Mourinho, whose first spell at Madrid lasted three years between 2010–2013, will re-sign for the club during a period of chaos, amid locker room infighting that has plagued a trophyless campaign.

While he seemingly has backing from club president Florentino Pérez, Mourinho is far from a universally popular option to succeed Álvaro Arbeloa as Real Madrid manager.

The two-time Champions League winner’s controversial first stint in the Spanish capital ended in acrimony, while he has not won a league title at any club since 2015.

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Mourinho Return Splits Fanbase

José Mourinho is a divisive figure. | Lars Baron/Bongarts/Getty Images

The second coming of Mourinho has split Madrid, with two notable club legends on either side of the debate.

Ancelotti, who succeeded Mourinho back in 2013, told The Athletic that the Portuguese manager is a “big friend”, while endorsing him for a comeback.

He said: “To be back at Real Madrid, I will be really happy for him. He can do a fantastic job, as he always did in all the clubs that he was at.”

Casillas, however, is not convinced.

The legendary goalkeeper famously fell out with Mourinho during the 2012–13 season and was benched for Diego Lopez. The manager insisted publicly that his decision was simply a sporting one, but rumors were rife over a rift between captain and coach.

No tengo ningún problema con Mourinho. Me parece un gran profesional. No le quiero en el @realmadrid . Creo que otros entrenadores estarían mejor capacitados para entrenar en el club de mi vida. Opinión personal. Nada mas.

— Iker Casillas (@IkerCasillas) May 12, 2026

Posting on X on Tuesday, Casillas wrote: “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.”

Interestingly, Casillas recently posted his support of ex-Barcelona and Spain star Cesc Fàbregas—the current Como manager—calling him a “wonderful” coach.

Fàbregas, meanwhile, despite his Barça affiliations, has not ruled out managing Madrid one day.

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Ancelotti Advice for Next Manager

Carlo Ancelotti was a master of handling big locker room personalities at Madrid. | Diego Souto/Getty Images

Whoever enters the fray as the next Real Madrid manager faces the unenviable task of piecing together a fractured locker room. Xabi Alonso was reported to have called this Madrid roster “impossible to coach” after his January exit from the club seven months after being appointed manager. Meanwhile, reports of out-of-control player power and training ground bust-ups have dominated this season.

Ancelotti, however, was keen to push back on the idea that Madrid players can’t be coached.

“It’s not true [that they do what they want]. Absolutely bulls---. It is absolutely bulls---,” he said in his long-form interview with The Athletic.

He also touched on his recipe for getting the best from the big egos in the locker room—words which could be read as advice for his friend Mourinho.

“As usual, I tried to have a relationship with the person—not with the player—because what you are is a person. You are just a person that plays football. That is clear in my mind,” Ancelotti said

“After that, the difficulties of Real Madrid … the old generation of players has to be rebuilt. In the last years, Real Madrid lost really important players: Casemiro, [Toni] Kroos, [Luka] Modrić, [Karim] Benzema, Nacho. The atmosphere in the squad is important, it comes from these players, who have more character, more personality and more leadership.

“So Real Madrid needs time to rebuild this environment in the squad, which gave them a lot of success [before]. It’s not only a problem of technical quality. To have success, it is also to find a good balance.”

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