Real Madrid

Mourinho gets final green light for Real Madrid move

Benfica has agreed to Mourinho’s exit terms, while the Portuguese coach is already planning major squad changes in Madrid.

Annegret Hilse (Reuters)

José Félix Díaz Marco Ruiz

Update: May 29th, 2026 01:32 EDT

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Real Madrid’s plans are effectively on hold until the club’s presidential election on June 7. But behind the scenes, there has already been a major breakthrough.

Madrid has resolved its negotiations with Benfica over José Mourinho’s arrival, removing what had become the biggest obstacle to bringing the Portuguese coach back to the Santiago Bernabéu.

The key issue centered around a release clause that was set to expire during the election period. That clause would have allowed Mourinho to leave Benfica for about $8.1 million. Once it expired, negotiations were expected to become significantly more complicated.

Now, thanks largely to the mediation of super-agent Jorge Mendes, all sides have reached an agreement, provided Florentino Pérez is re-elected president next week.

Mourinho growing impatient

Pérez remains the overwhelming favorite heading into the election, and if the expected result is confirmed, Madrid’s internal machinery is already prepared to launch a new era under Mourinho.

Even so, the process has moved slower than the coach would have liked.

🚨👀 Florentino Pérez: “A good coach will make our team work because we have the best players in the world”.

“Mourinho? He’s a very good coach”. 🫱🏻‍🫲🏼 pic.twitter.com/Yg2EsCmBwo
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) May 28, 2026

When could Mourinho be announced as Real Madrid coach?

Mourinho is said to be increasingly eager to begin work, especially with rivals Barcelona already advancing talks for several of their top transfer targets, including Anthony Gordon, Julián Álvarez and Alessandro Bastoni.

Madrid believes the agreement with Benfica saves valuable time. Without it, the club would have faced another round of negotiations after the election, this time without the protection of the now-expired release clause.

The current plan is for Mourinho to be officially announced within three days of Pérez securing another term.

Benfica compromise opens the door

Benfica has backed away from demands for a significantly larger compensation package, despite earlier reports suggesting the Portuguese club wanted an amount closer to Mourinho’s full salary, believed to be around $17.5 million before taxes.

In exchange, Benfica received favorable conditions tied to the arrival of Mourinho’s preferred replacement: Fulham manager Marco Silva.

Silva, who is also represented by Mendes, is nearing the end of his contract with the Premier League club, although Fulham has already offered him a renewal deal.

The arrangement reportedly satisfies every party involved: Benfica, Real Madrid, Mourinho, Fulham and Silva himself, who can now prepare for the next step in his managerial career.

Mourinho already planning squad rebuild

While Mourinho is currently on vacation in Portugal awaiting a possible trip to Madrid for his signing and official presentation, he has already begun laying out his sporting vision for the club.

According to reports previously published by AS, Mourinho has delivered an extensive assessment of the squad to Madrid executives and identified several priority positions for reinforcement.

Although the Portuguese coach wants to evaluate the roster firsthand during preseason training before making final decisions, his early requests are already clear.

Mourinho reportedly wants Madrid to sign one or two center backs, a right back, a left back and two midfielders.

One of those midfielders would serve as the team’s deep-lying organizer, the player responsible for connecting the entire system and controlling the rhythm of play. The other would provide defensive stability and ball-winning presence in front of the back line.

With the election approaching quickly, Real Madrid’s next era may already be taking shape behind closed doors.