Real Madrid News
Real Madrid approached Jose Mourinho in 2021 after Zidane left, says ex-Atletico star
Former Atletico Madrid and Portugal footballer Paulo Futre has offered key insights into Real Madrid’s search for a new manager in 2021, when Zinedine Zidane left the club for the second time.
The former Atletico Madrid star suggests that in an attempt to find a replacement for Zidane, Real Madrid had approached Jose Mourinho. But the Portuguese mastermind, who was a free agent at the time, opted not to return to Santiago Bernabeu.
“José Mourinho could have returned to Real Madrid in 2021,” Futre told SerieANews (h/t Diario AS). But the Italian admits Mourinho was not too keen on joining Real Madrid and tempted by the project at AS Roma.
“José believed from the first moment in the Roma project since he signed. He said no to Madrid. When Zidane left, he was able to return to the white club, but he preferred to go to Roma and start this new journey,” he added.
Mourinho was a coach of Real Madrid from 2010 to 2013. Under his leadership, the Whites were the Spanish champions in 2011/12. He was also voted the best coach in the world in 2011.
According to Futre, the former Chelsea, Manchester United and Real Madrid manager was in contention to return at Santiago Bernabeu last year. But the move did not materialise and the club ended up bringing back another former boss in the form of Carlo Ancelotti.
The decision has proven to be a fruitful one so far, with Ancelotti notably helping Los Blancos seal the Champions League and La Liga last season. The club will be eyeing a treble this time around, especially after an explosive start to the campaign.
There is no way back for Eden Hazard at Real Madrid. The Belgian international has not given the management any reason to have faith in his abilities over his past four seasons at the club and is unsurprisingly the most important departure for the Merengues in the summer.
Hazard has one more year on his contract in Madrid. However, it is clear that Carlo Ancelotti does not trust him and that any potential replacement manager in the summer will echo his stance.
According to reports from Mundo Deportivo, Fenerbahce are willing to go all out to sign Hazard this summer. The Turkish side have made the former Chelsea their prime target, yet face a steep task ahead of them.
The 32-year-old is hellbent on seeing out his contract with Los Blancos despite seeing his career sink right before his eyes. It thus becomes complicated for the party to lure away the forward, especially in a competition outside Europe’s top five leagues.
Fenerbahce attempted to sign the winger in the recently concluded winter transfer market. They reached an agreement with Real Madrid but failed to get over the line as they could not convince the player of the move.
The biggest obstacle for the Turkish side will be convincing Hazard to make the move by letting go of his lucrative contract in Madrid. The chances are slim, but not impossible.
Hazard has made just three league appearances and one start for Ancelotti’s side this season in La Liga, a steep fall from last season’s 18 and seven respectively.
His last appearance for the team came back in January when Real Madrid faced Cacereno in the Copa del Rey. In La Liga however, he last played in September 2022 in a 4-1 win over Mallorca.
