Jose Mourinho appears to have shut down any possibility of a Real Madrid reunion by saying he doesn’t ‘watch soap operas’.
The Portuguese boss won one La Liga title, a Copa del Rey and a Spanish Super Cup during his three years at the Santiago Bernabeu against Pep Guardiola‘s all-conquering Barcelona side.
But when asked about making a return to Madrid, who are currently mired in fan discontent, the Benfica manager seemingly distanced himself from any possibility of it.
‘Don’t count on me for soap operas,’ Mourinho told Portuguese outlet Sport TV. ‘There are good soap operas, but they’re very long. You miss one or two episodes and then you lose track. Don’t count on me, because I don’t watch soap operas.’
Madrid are currently second in the Spanish top flight but sacked boss Xabi Alonso after their Spanish Super Cup final defeat to Barcelona amid rumours of a rift with his players behind the scenes.
Alonso was replaced by former Galactico defender Alvaro Arbeloa, but the Spaniard’s reign got off to the worst possible start as they were humiliatingly knocked out of the Copa del Rey to second-tier strugglers Albacete on Wednesday.
Jose Mourinho appears to have shut down any possibility of a dramatic Real Madrid reunion
Madrid’s season hit a new low on Wednesday when they were beaten by second-tier Albacete
Arbeloa, who played with Alonso at Liverpool, got his first win as Madrid boss with a 2-0 win over Levante on Saturday, but fans still jeered and waved white handkerchiefs aloft in the Bernabeu with the score level at half time.
‘We didn’t have a good week and the fans have every right to show their dissatisfaction with the players, with the team and with me first and foremost,’ Arbeloa said after the win.
‘It’s my first game as Real Madrid coach here at the stadium and what I did as a player is in the past and they already showed me their affection when I was a player. Now I have to earn it as a coach.
‘Those whistles were for everyone, and for me first and foremost because I’m the one in charge, the leader of this team, and the one to blame when things go wrong. I’ve always had a lot of respect for the Bernabeu. I’ve been booed a lot too, and I think one of the reasons this club is so great is because of how demanding our fans are.’
The two-time Champions League winner then launched a defence of Madrid president Florentino Perez, who was on the receiving end of chants and boos from the supporters, alongside winger Vinicius Jr.
‘I know where the boos come from and I know where the campaigns come from. They’re not from people who don’t like Florentino. They’re from people who don’t like Real Madrid. They’re not going to fool me.
‘I know where all this comes from and I consider myself lucky to have a president who is the most important person, alongside Santiago Bernabeu, in the history of this club.
‘Seven European Cups and I think more than 60 titles between the football and basketball teams. All Madrid fans are aware of how lucky we are to have him as president, of what he has done for the club and of where the boos come from and why.’
Alvaro Arbeloa was appointed as Madrid’s manager after Xabi Alonso was sacked last week
Arbeloa got his first win after beating Levante 2-0 but fans jeered and waved handkerchiefs
The chants against Perez were the first in the stadium since 2015, when Rafael Benitez was head coach.
Mourinho and Perez are understood to have had a strong relationship during the Portuguese’s reign from 2010 to 2013, but Madrid’s present was non-committal when asked previously if he would consider hiring him again.
‘We don’t contemplate that, but he gave us a very important leap in quality to occupy the place we deserved in the world,’ Perez said.
‘Mourinho, like any other coach, has his good and bad things. He started well and raised the level. He gave us that push that we needed to progress past the last 16 stages in competitions.
‘With Mourinho we reached three semifinals besides winning a league title – a league that we won with 100 points.’
Mourinho left Madrid to return to Chelsea and has since held managerial roles at Man United, Tottenham, Roma, Fenerbache, and now Benfica.
The Portuguese giants are third in the Liga Portugal, behind leaders Porto and Sporting Lisbon, and are currently 25th in the Champions League’s league phase – leaving them without an outside chance of qualifcation.
Ironically, Mourinho will the chance to haunt his former employers as they host Madrid in one of Benfica’s two final games in Europe’s top competition later this month, as well as Juventus.
