Through an official statement, the Portuguese club revealed the amount that the White House will have to pay to take the coach if the current president wins the elections.
The possible return of José Mourinhoto Real Madrid seems to be a fact already. Benfica confirmed this Thursday that the Portuguese coach will be able to leave the club if Florentino Pérez is re-elected as president of the Madrid entity and executes the termination clause stipulated in his contract.
The news emerged a few hours after Pérez's candidacy publicly announced its intention to bring the Portuguese coach back. The message came through a brief video shared on social media, in which Mourinho appears wearing a white club jersey and responds with a single word: “Yes". The post was accompanied by the slogan "Moucha history to make", a reference to a possible second stint for the coach at the club.
Although the announcement generated some uncertainty after, according to Portuguese media, Mourinho himself indicated that the image used in the campaign had been generated by artificial intelligence, doubts were cleared this Thursday when the Lisbon team issued an official statement confirming the existence of an agreement conditioned on the outcome of the Real Madrid presidential elections.
"Benfica informs that the candidacy of president Florentino Pérez for the elections of Real Madrid CF has expressed its firm intention to hire coach José Mário dos Santos Mourinho Félix if he wins the elections for the presidency of said club, scheduled for June 7, 2026", stated the institution in the text addressed to the Portuguese Securities Market Commission (CNMV), an agency to which it is obliged to report relevant market operations.
The club also confirmed the amount that the Spanish team will have to pay to finalize the operation. "If this occurs, the hiring will be made for an amount of 15,000,000 euros, corresponding to the termination clause of the current sports employment contract".
The statement from Benfica to the CNMV
The figure far exceeds the initial estimates that circulated in recent months, when a cost close to seven million euros was mentioned. Beyond this price difference, Mourinho's return to the Santiago Bernabéu bench seems to depend exclusively on the electoral outcome.
Mourinho's numbers at Real Madrid
In his first stint with the Merengue, the Portuguese coach managed 178 matches, of which he won 127, drew 28, and lost 23, with a balance of 476 goals in favor and 171 against. In terms of titles, The Special One won 3: Copa del Rey 2010/11, LaLiga 2011/12 (the historic campaign of 100 points), and Supercopa de España 2012.
