Los Blancos have been expected to leave Arbeloa for some time and Mourinho is reportedly president Florentino Perez’s preferred option. Sky Sport DE reports that personal terms and contract length will not hinder any move, and if Real Madrid offer him the job, the deal will go through. They say he has also contacted his agent Jorge Mendes.
Mourinho, one of the two finalists for the Real Madrid job
According to El Chiringuito, Mourinho is one of two finalists for the position, the other being Jurgen Klopp. The former Liverpool coach has been strongly linked with Real Madrid since the departure of Xabi Alonso, but he has distanced himself from the position and the whites will have to convince him to accept it. If they don’t, then Mourinho is in pole position to take over the job.
Didier Deschamps is still in the photo
They go on to say that the third coach on Real Madrid’s mind is French coach Didier Deschamps, who has agreed to leave the French team after this summer’s World Cup. In recent weeks, L’Equipe (via MD) claims that Deschamps’ team has denied that he is a candidate for the position.
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The other candidates
In January, Massimiliano Allegri’s name came up and since then, Argentine coach Lionel Scaloni, Aston Villa coach Unai Emery and USMNT coach Mauricio Pochettino have all been mentioned. All of them belong to a third group that will only be taken into account if Mourinho, Klopp and Deschamps do not work, according to El Chiringuito. Before revealing the Mourinho news, The Athletic had also reported that Pochettino should “still be considered a strong candidate.”
However, one of the developments this week has been that Perez is likely to lead the selection process, and that may weaken Pochettino’s position. It seems likely that the president of Real Madrid will opt for an experienced coach with a strong character, something that unites Mourinho, Deschamps and Klopp.