Real Madrid are on course to appoint Jose Mourinho as their new manager this summer, after the exit of Alvaro Arbeloa was made official on Tuesday night. However the Portuguese manager will not speak to the media for some time.
Benfica confirmed last week that Real Madrid had notified the club of their intention to activate his €15m release clause, and this week confirmed they had done so. While President Florentino Perez confirmed that Mourinho would be his manager this season if he was re-elected, fans are still awaiting an official announcement on his return, 13 years after his first spell ended.
Mourinho presentation set for long delay
The latest is that he may not be presented to the media for some time yet. Diario AS report that he will be announced officially as the new manager imminently, but will not set out his stall again until July. It will happen before preseason, which begins on the 13th of July, but it seems Mourinho will only speak in the latter stages of the World Cup.
It is added that his initial announcement was delayed by none other than the Pope, who was at the Santiago Bernabeu on Monday, hence the club did not want to distract from that.
The first points on Mourinho’s agenda
One of the first points on Mourinho’s agenda will no doubt to be to smooth over relations with a number of the squad, starting with Vinicius Junior. During Benfica’s clash with Real Madrid in February, he accused the Brazilian of provoking the crowd, and refused to acknowledge that he had been racially abused by Gianluca Prestianni. A number of players, including veteran star Thibaut Courtois, criticised Mourinho’s words thereafter, feeling that he was on the wrong side of history.
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