Chronicle Editor
JOSE MOURINHO is available for a dramatic return to Real Madrid after Manchester United paid him a reported £15 million ($19 million) in compensation following his sacking last month, according to British media on Thursday.
The Daily Mail reports that a source close to Mourinho — whose contract was due to run till the end of the 2019/20 campaign with the option of an extra season — has revealed that compensation has been paid.
“There are no issues over Jose’s contract with Manchester United. Everything has been sorted,” the newspaper reports the source as saying.
“Jose is able to take on another job right now, but is in no rush.
“He is very relaxed about it and would be happy to wait until the end of the season if he needs to.”
The Sun reports that United agreed to the payment after his disappointing two-and-a-half-year stint at Old Trafford following a meeting between Mourinho’s agent Jorge Mendes and United executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward.
The pay-out leaves the 55-year-old Portuguese free to be considered for Madrid if the club decide to dismiss under-pressure coach Santiago Solari.
Mourinho’s time at Real between 2010-2013 — which brought a league title and a Spanish Cup but saw them largely play second fiddle to Barcelona —ended as it did at United and Chelsea, with bad results and discord in the dressing room.
However, Real president Florentino Perez remains a fan and with the club 10 points behind La Liga leaders Barca and outside the Champions League places, Solari is under intense scrutiny.
“There has been no contact, but they did get in touch with Jose after (Julen) Lopetegui was dismissed (in late October),” the Mail reports the source as saying.
“He told them he was the manager of Manchester United and totally committed to the club.”
Mourinho ruled himself out of the vacant job at Benfica, saying he has no intention of coaching in his native Portugal for the time being.
Mourinho was sacked by United last month after two and half years in charge of the Premier League club.
“I haven’t received an offer and even if I did, obviously the president of Benfica and the club itself would be the first to know my decision,” he told the website of the Correo da Manha newspaper.
“(But) I think I can say that today, I don’t have any intention of coming back to work in Portugal,” he said. “I am fine at the moment. Today, I am not an option for Benfica, nothing more than that.”
Benfica coach Rui Vitoria left the club by mutual consent last Thursday.
Mourinho said he did not want to talk about his dismissal by United.
“I have learned that, when you leave a club, you don’t go around talking about it, you don’t wash your dirty laundry in public. The chapter is finished and you don’t go around making criticism,” he said.
“The other thing I have learned is to respect the clubs who want me and those who don’t want me.”
Mourinho began his coaching career in 2000 at Benfica but was in charge for only nine games before spells at Porto, Chelsea, Real Madrid and Inter Milan. — SuperSport
derick.khumalo