Jose Mourinho looks to be heading back to the Bernabeu after agreeing to a blockbuster return to Real Madrid. Los Blancos’ President Florentino Perez had identified the Special One as his number one target after a disastrous 2025/26 season in the capital, firstly under boss Xabi Alonso and then under Alvaro Arbeloa. The Spanish giants have just concluded their second straight season without winning a major trophy, marking the first time in 16 years that the club have done so. 

Mourinho famously managed Real between 2010 and 2013, brought to the club off the back of leading Inter to a famous treble, culminating with a 2-0 Champions League final victory against Bayern Munich in the Bernabeu. The Portuguese icon would never leave Madrid, penning a deal to take over in the dugout of the stadium where he had just claimed his second European Cup. Back then, he was brought to the club with just one mandate: Stop Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona at all costs. 

Mourinho Ends Guardiola’s Dynasty 

Pep’s Blaugrana had become the dominant force in European football at the time. They had won back-to-back La Liga crowns under the iconic manager, as well as winning the Champions League in 2009. Mourinho’s first crack at Barca wouldn’t end well as the Catalans won La Liga and the Champions League again, but Real Madrid would strike when they defeated their greatest rival in the Copa Del Rey final. That proved that the Special One was on the right track, and he would complete his task in 2011/12 when he knocked Guardiola’s side off top spot in La Liga, claiming the title with a 2-1 victory in the Camp Nou. 

The former Chelsea manager would leave the club after a disastrous 2012/13 campaign that saw Real eliminated from the Champions League at the semi-final stage for the third straight season. Things would turn sour in the dressing room, and a very public rift with Cristiano Ronaldo and other senior players ushered in the end for Mourinho. Now, 13 years on, he is set to return, and he will inherit a dressing room showing fractures very similar to the ones that were there when he left the club all those years ago. 

In recent weeks, Federico Valverde and Aurelien Tchouameni have come to blows in training, while talismanic striker Kylian Mbappe has drawn the ire of the Bernabeu faithful after missing the 2-0 El Clasico defeat at the Camp Nou. Online betting sites made Real Madrid a huge underdog in that clash, with Sportaza online sportsbook installing them as a 3/1 underdog before the game. The defeat would duly come, and the loss ensured that Barcelona won La Liga once again. 

Now Mourinho must whip the dressing room into shape as quickly as possible. But how have other managers fared after returning to the club for a second stint as manager? Let’s take a look. 

Carlo Ancelotti 

Italian manager Carlo Ancelotti famously led Real Madrid to La Decima in 2014, Real Madrid’s tenth Champions League title after a 12-year barren spell. The triumph would usher in a new era of dominance for Los Blancos on the European stage. But Don Carlo wouldn’t stay around for it. He was unceremoniously sacked one year on from that triumph in Lisbon after a trophyless campaign. 

Eight years later, Ancelotti would return, and he would go on to enjoy an even more successful stint in charge. Over the course of the next four years, Real would win two Champions League titles and two La Liga crowns under the Italian boss, as well as sign marquee names such as the aforementioned Mbappe and Jude Bellingham. However, another trophyless campaign in 2024/25 brought about the end once more. One year on from his second sacking, Real find themselves in an even worse situation, forcing them to turn to the Special One. 

Zinedine Zidane 

Zinedine Zidane was once the finest midfielder on the planet. He famously scored a stunning left-footed volley to win the Champions League for Real Madrid in 2002, and in January 2016, he would return to the club as manager, taking over after the ill-fated reign of Rafa Benitez. 

Under the Frenchman, Los Blancos would go on to enjoy their finest run of all time, at least in Europe. Led by the blistering strike force of Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, and Gareth Bale, Zidane would guide the club to three straight Champions League crowns. They beat Atletico Madrid in Milan in 2016, Juventus in Cardiff the following year, and finally Liverpool in Kyiv the year after that to complete the first three-peat of modern times. 

After that third straight triumph, Zidane would leave his post, citing burnout. However, after less than a year, he was back. The disastrous reigns of first Julen Lopetegui and then Santiago Solari forced Perez to attempt to lure Zizou back into the dugout, and he ultimately succeeded. Zidane would lead the club to the La Liga title in 2019/20, before leaving again in the summer of 2021.