Benfica finally confirm Mourinho’s Real Madrid deal, reveal exact price to sign him
The Portuguese club officially disclosed the deal to market regulators, confirming the fee Madrid would pay to bring Mourinho back.
Benfica has officially confirmed what Florentino Pérez’s presidential campaign for Real Madrid announced Wednesday night: José Mourinho is the coach Pérez wants to bring to the Bernabéu if he defeats Enrique Riquelme in Sunday’s club election.
The Real Madrid president’s campaign released a video on social media while Enrique Riquelme was appearing on Spanish television, showing Mourinho giving his approval to the proposed return.
Benfica confirm details of Mourinho’s Madrid move
The remaining question was Benfica’s position on the matter, given that Mourinho is currently under contract with the Portuguese giant.
That answer has now arrived.
Benfica publicly addressed the situation in a filing submitted to Portugal’s Securities Market Commission (CMVM), a requirement because the club is publicly traded. In the statement, Benfica confirmed that Real Madrid would have to pay €15 million, roughly $17.5 million, to release Mourinho from his contract.
The amount is equivalent to one year’s salary for the veteran manager.
Benfica’s next step will be to formally notify the Portuguese market regulator of the arrival of Marco Silva, who is expected to replace Mourinho.
Official statement released by Benfica
“Sport Lisboa e Benfica Futebol, SAD (”Benfica SAD") informs that the candidacy of president Florentino Pérez in the Real Madrid CF elections has expressed its firm intention to hire coach José Mário dos Santos Mourinho Félix in the event of victory in the presidential election of that club, scheduled for June 7, 2026.
“In that event, the hiring will be carried out for an amount of €15,000,000, corresponding to the release clause contained in the current sports employment contract.”
The statement marks the first official confirmation from Benfica that Mourinho’s return to Real Madrid is directly tied to the outcome of Sunday’s election and establishes the exact price the Spanish club would pay to secure the Portuguese coach’s services.
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