Special One is back! Mourinho set for sensational return as Real Madrid agree on deal
By Luke Oluoch, May 18, 2026News of Jose Mourinho’s sensational return to the Santiago Bernabéu has taken the footballing world by storm.
Prominent football journalist Fabrizio Romano confirmed on Monday, May 18, 2026, that the Special One agreed to a two-year contract with Los Blancos.
Mourinho heads back to the Spanish capital fresh off a highly unique 2025/26 season managing Benfica in Portugal. He guided the Lisbon-based side through a remarkably historic domestic run, finishing the campaign completely undefeated under his watch. However, a frustrating accumulation of 11 draws meant Benfica ultimately finished third behind Porto and eventual champions Sporting CP.
Despite that bittersweet end in Portugal, Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez has turned to the veteran tactician to redress a dismal campaign at the Bernabéu.
Real Madrid has endured a turbulent year that saw two different managers fail to turn the club’s fortunes around. Both Xabi Alonso and his successor, interim manager Álvaro Arbeloa, struggled to steady the ship. The spate left Madrid trailing a massive 11 points behind bitter rivals Barcelona in La Liga while staring at a completely trophyless season following their Champions League elimination by Bayern Munich.
Other than wrestling back Barcelona’s growing influence in domestic football (after back-to-back league titles), the veteran coach is viewed by the board as the exact profile needed to cure what has been ailing the club in recent times.
Mourinho has reportedly already presented his immediate transfer demands to Pérez. Fixing a declining, ageing defence has been listed as his absolute priority before next season kicks off. He will also be tasked with dealing with internal turmoils that befell the squad and handling big player egos inside the famed Madrid dressing room.
Mourinho’s record since Madrid exit
Mourinho has successfully lived up to his reputation as a serial title-winning manager. During his 14-year hiatus from Madrid, he managed six different clubs across England, Italy, Turkey, and Portugal, winning a total of six trophies.
Five of those pieces of silverware came between 2013 and 2018 upon his highly anticipated return to the English Premier League hot seat.
Succeeding a second stint at Stamford Bridge, he restored the Blues’ pride in English football by winning a Premier League and League Cup double in his second season before a difficult third campaign led to his departure.
Trading the blue of Chelsea for the red of Manchester United in 2016, he enjoyed a highly successful debut season at Old Trafford, securing an EFL Cup, a Community Shield, and the UEFA Europa League, which remains United’s last major continental trophy.
He also delivered a second-place finish the following year, marking United’s best league placement of the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era.
Following his sacking at United, he turned up at Tottenham Hotspur. While it remains the only stop where he failed to win silverware, his exit was riddled with controversy; the Portuguese was sensationally sacked just days before leading the London club into the Carabao Cup final, a match Spurs subsequently lost to Manchester City through an Aymeric Laporte solo goal.
Wins at Roma
Mourinho later rebuilt his stock in Italy with AS Roma, famously winning the inaugural 2022 UEFA Europa Conference League, before navigating subsequent short-term projects with Fenerbahçe and Benfica.
It now remains to be seen if, in fourteen years after his initial departure, Jose can maintain his speciality and restore Real Madrid’s fading glory