Benfica say farewell to Mourinho as Real Madrid return nears

Benfica on Tuesday parted company with coach Jose Mourinho, who is close to returning to Real Madrid, and announced an agreement with Fulham boss Marco Silva to replace him.

The Lisbon club said Real Madrid had “formalised their intention to sign Mourinho for a fee of 15 million euros ($17.25 million)” in a statement sent to Portugal’s financial markets regulator.

The amount corresponds to the release clause in Mourinho’s contract.

Benfica subsequently announced they had struck a two-year deal with Silva, who left Fulham last week after five seasons at the Premier League club.

Florentino Perez’s re-election as Real Madrid president at the weekend paved the way for Mourinho to return to the Spanish capital.

Mourinho, 63, first joined Real Madrid in 2010, spending three seasons at the club.

During his tenure he won one La Liga championship, one Copa del Rey and the Spanish Super Cup during a period of fierce rivalry with Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona.

Appointing the divisive Mourinho will be a gamble on the part of president Perez after Los Blancos finished without a major trophy in 2025/26, making it a second consecutive barren season.

Real Madrid confirmed the departure of coach Alvaro Arbeloa earlier on Tuesday.

Arbeloa, who arrived in January to replace Xabi Alonso, had announced last month that he would be leaving his post at the end of the season.