Real Madrid president lines up Benitez to take over from Mourinho
Published:Jose Mourinho is 7/4 to be managing in the Premier League next season and Real Madrid president Florentino Perez has lined up Rafael Benitez to replace him should the Special One leave.
Madrid radio station Onda Cero claims that Perez has a pre-agreement with Benitez to take over at Real Madrid should Mourinho defect back to the Premier League come the end of the season.
Mourinho and Perez held clear-the-air talks about a month ago after Mourinho sought reassurance from the Real Madrid board, and while the meeting seemed to go well, Perez and Mourinho have not always seen eye-to-eye this season.
Should Real Madrid fail to win anything this season – they are second-favourites behind Barcelona in all three of the competitions they are competing in – then it’s difficult to see Mourinho leaving as he would be deemed a failure.
If Mourinho delivers the Champions League for the first time since 2002 – Real are 4/1 to win it with a quarter-final against Tottenham Hotspur coming up next week – then it’s more likely that Mourniho would leave having done something his 10 predecessors couldn’t do.
Manchester City is deemed Jose Mourinho’s most likely destination should he leave Real Madrid and it’s 7/4 that he’s managing the Citizens next.
A return to Chelsea is priced at 9/4 and Mourinho is 15/2 to take charge of Manchester United as his next appointment.
Before Manchester City fans get too excited, Mourinho is 2/5 to not be managing in the Premier League next season and Perez could expect a backlash from the Real Madrid fans should Benitez be appointed.
But Perez has always been a controversial figure and the Real fans wouldn’t be surprised if a pre-agreement has been put in place.
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