Mourinho wants Real Madrid return after turning down series of jobs

The Portuguese has turned down the likes of Monaco, Schalke and AC Milan as he awaits a chance to return to Santiago Bernabeu

Posted Saturday, September 28, 2019 by Goal.com

Jose Mourinho wants to return to Real Madrid, sources tell Goal, as the Portuguese coach has already turned down a number of job offers since departing Manchester United.

Mourinho departed Old Trafford last December as he was sacked following a tumultuous start to the Premier League campaign.

He has since been featuring as a pundit while awaiting his next job, but sources tell Goal that he would be very interested if Real Madrid were to come calling.

Between May and September, Mourinho turned down approaches from Monaco, Lille, Wolfsburg, Schalke and AC Milan.

The Portuguese boss, during that time, had his eyes fixed on three clubs: Paris Saint-Germain, Juventus and Bayern Munich.

Mourinho, who has been learning German, had also been open to a move to Tottenham earlier this year, as he believed Real Madrid would make a move to bring in Mauricio Pochettino following the dismissal of Santiago Solari.

However, that possibility ended as soon as Madrid made the decision to bring in Zinedine Zidane, thus ending rumours of Pochettino leaving London.

PSG and Bayern, meanwhile, opted to stick with Thomas Tuchel and Niko Kovac respectively despite up-and-down seasons while Juventus opted for former Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri following the departure of Massimiliano Allegri.

Now, Mourinho is interested in the Real Madrid job should the club opt to remove Zidane as criticism has mounted.

Real Madrid have endured some difficult moments this season, namely a 3-0 battering at the hands of PSG in their Champions League group stage opener.

In the time since, pressure has ramped up on Zidane, who has seen his side struggle since stepping in for Solari last March.

Still, the three-time Champions League-winning manager has Madrid top of La Liga, and the Blancos board have not shown any signs of being ready to move on from the legendary Frenchman.

Zidane was one of three Real Madrid managers last season, as Julen Lopetegui started the campaign and lasted less than three months before being replaced by Solari.

Real Madrid will next face city rivals Atletico Madrid on Saturday before then looking ahead to a clash with Club Brugge on Tuesday in the Champions League.