Chelsea
boss Jose Mourinho rejected a potential return to Real Madrid as manager,
according to Guillem Balague.
Barcelona ensured Real would end the season without the domestic title as
Lionel Messi’s solitary strike at Atletico Madrid earned the Catalan side a
fifth La Liga title in seven seasons.
The result means Real have won just one Primera Division crown in seven
years and their latest fruitless campaign - including a Champions League
semi-final exit to Juventus - has brought Carlo Ancelotti's future further
into question.
Balague claims Madrid had drawn up a list of potential replacements that
included Chelsea boss Mourinho - a man who only ended an oft-tempestuous
three-year spell at the Bernabeu in 2013.
“The idea is that Real now look for another coach – that is what normally
happens when Real Madrid do not win,” he told Revista de La Liga after
Barcelona's triumph.
“Real have spoken to Julen Lopetegui at Porto, to Jurgen Klopp, to Rafa
Benitez and Jose Mourinho.
“They have already spoken to those four to see if they would be interested
in coaching Real Madrid. They have spoken to Jose Mourinho - he said no to
them, of course.
“Out of those four, Rafa is favoured by some but not others. Mourinho is
favoured by some and not by others and Lopetegui is deemed as something for
the future, but they have sounded out all of them.
“Klopp isn’t an automatic yes for the job, and it may be a little bit too
early for Zinedine Zidane.
“There was a plan at the beginning of the season, but Real Madrid Castilla
haven’t been doing too well so, again, there is doubt.”
It is thought Ancelotti could stay for a further season at the Bernabeu if
President Florentino Perez is unable to find a suitable replacement.
But Balague believes such a move could undermine the Italian's authority at
the Santiago Bernabeu.
“The problem Florentino Perez is facing is that he’s not in love with
anybody,” he added.
“He was in love with Mourinho when he brought him to the club, and he has
loved other appointments.
“However, at the moment, there is not a clear candidate to replace Ancelotti
and he could stay.
“But if you tell Ancelotti, ‘you’re going to stay because there is nobody
else,’ what does that tell you about his authority next season?”
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