Jose Mourinho set for Real Madrid comeback: Here's why 'Special One' is returning to Bernabeu after 13 years

The drama surrounding Jose Mourinho's return to Real Madrid appears to have concluded on Monday with the Portuguese manager reportedly agreeing to a fresh two-year deal at Santiago Bernebau. Mourinho had previously coached the 15-time Champions League winners from 2010 to 2013, winning the LaLiga in his second season in charge, as well as a Copa del Rey title and the Spanish Super Cup.

The 'Special One' concluded his latest managerial stint with Benfica with an unbeaten run in the 2025-26 season, helping the club finish third in the Primeira Liga behind Porto and Sporting CP after their 3-1 victory over Estoril on Saturday.

Mourinho's two-year contract with Benfica signed last year allows him to walk away from the Lisbon-based club for £2.6 million. And according to Sky Sports, the 63-year-old is expected to take four members of his coaching staff with him to the Spanish capital.

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Madrid has been managed by Alvaro Arbeloa on an interim basis since Xabi Alonso was sacked in January after just seven months in charge, and will be handing over the reigns to Mourinho after their final game of the season – against Athletic Club on Sunday.

Why is Mourinho returning to Madrid? 

Mourinho will be returning to a club whose locker room is in a state of complete disarray after months of infighting, with the 36-time Spanish top-flight champions having also finished a second consecutive season without a single trophy to their name.

The atmosphere in the Los Blancos dressing room reached an all-time low earlier this month after an altercation between Federico Valverde and Aurelien Tchouameni left the former hospitalised with a head injury.

Mourinho is counted among the most successful and influential football managers of all time, having also led Chelsea to three Premier League titles and won Champions League titles with Porto and Inter Milan.

At the same time, he is also considered someone who is seen as strong-headed with the ability to manage big personalities such as Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Jr, an area Alonso and his interim successor Arbeloa might not have been as successful in.

Additionally, a report on Sky Sports claims that Mourinho's initial plan was to join the Portugal national team as their head coach after the upcoming Fifa World Cup, replacing Roberto Martinez in the role. It is perhaps the reason why he had a clause inserted in his Benfica contract that allowed him to walk away during the summer at the end of his first season in charge.

However, with Real Madrid president Florentino Perez giving him a call, Mourinho may have had to ditch his Portuguese national team plans.

Mourinho had helped Madrid win the 2011-12 LaLiga with 100 points – one of only two instances in the league's history that a club completed a century, the other being arch-rivals Barcelona the very next season.

And with the club currently 11 points behind Barca and crashing out of the Champions League with a quarter-final loss against Bayern Munich, as well as the dressing room tensions, Perez may have considered Mourinho as the most qualified individual to rescue the iconic club from the muddle that they currently find themselves in.