Karanka: Florentino has tried to bring Mourinho back to Real Madrid

Karanka: Florentino has tried to bring Mourinho back to Real Madrid

Aitor Karanka says Real Madrid president Florentino Perez has made past attempts to rehire Jose Mourinho.

Now with Benfica, Mourinho has been mentioned as a potential long-term appointment for Florentino after the dismissal of Xabi Alonso.

For the moment, Alvaro Arbeloa is in charge, though there is a belief he will return to his Castilla job at the end of the season.

Karanka, Mourinho's assistant coach at Real Madrid from 2010 to 2013, spoke with Josep Pedrerol on 'El Cafelito' about Mourinho's relationship with Real.

"Mourinho... do you think he would like to return to Real Madrid?" Pedrerol asked him directly.

"What do you want me to say?" former Middlesbrough manager Karanka replied with a smile.

Karanka then acknowledged that "I think Mourinho has had some opportunities" to return to Real Madrid .

He continued, "But these things happen in football, things just didn't work out. And the important thing is that now at Real Madrid there's a coach who's Spanish (1lvaro Arbeloa)... For the Spanish Football Federation, having coaches trained in Spain is good, and we hope it lasts a long time..."

Pedrerol pressed Karanka, "Were there any approaches from Mourinho to Madrid?"

"As far as I know, at some point yes... I don't remember how long ago either...", replied Karanka.

"It's all about the football. Perhaps it was mid-season or Mourinho was working on another project... Nobody is surprised by Jose Mourinho's relationship with the president of Real Madrid (Florentino P9rez)."