One thing is for sure, Jose Mourinho’s club has no plans to let their star manager go to Real Madrid without it stinging the Spanish giant’s wallet. As of today, they no longer have to deal with a clause that limits how much they get in a buyout.
Real Madrid’s ongoing presidential election has delayed the signing of José Mourinho, and it will now cost more than twice as much to sign him.
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It’s official: the deadline for Real Madrid to trigger Mourinho’s €6 million clause has passed. Now the club will have to negotiate with Benfica if they still want to sign the Portuguese as their next manager.
Election campaign delays decision
José Mourinho is Florentino Pérez’s favourite to lead Real Madrid’s team next season. If Florentino wins the presidential election, the Portuguese will take over the white team. But there is one serious problem: the selection process underway at the club has prevented Madrid from paying Mourinho’s €6 million buyout clause to Benfica. This clause expired on May 26.
Florentino Pérez has been clear that during an ongoing election campaign, he could not sign the Portuguese until the election was won. Although the club’s bylaws allow him to make normal decisions along the way, he believed that it would not be ethically correct.
The price has skyrocketed – from NOK 6 million to NOK 15 million
Now the price to sign Mourinho is 15 million euros – unless Real Madrid succeed in negotiations with Benfica. This means that Mourinho’s price has increased by 150 percent.
For Real Madrid, however, paying the new clause is not prohibitive. And most likely, the white club and Benfica will find a compromise anyway.
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Florentino: “Mourinho is the right man for this moment”
Now Florentino’s plan is to win the election and then get started on the new project as quickly as possible. Enrique Riquelme’s candidacy has delayed his signing. There is little doubt that Florentino is expected to win the election by a good margin, but the members must be allowed to vote.
Real Madrid is a democratic club, and it is both legal and healthy that the election is decided at the ballot box – especially after two years without titles and a lot of criticism of the incumbent president. That is precisely what Florentino wants: to confirm the members’ support.
Mourinho is waiting in the wings
What is certain is that Mourinho’s €6 million clause has not been paid on time. If it had been, Benfica would have had to disclose it to the Portuguese Securities Commission, as the club is publicly traded. That has not happened.
Florentino is convinced that Mourinho is capable and deserves a second spell at Real Madrid. He believes the Portuguese is the right man for this moment – after two years without titles and with a young squad that has lost control.
Over the next few days, Florentino will present the strengths of his candidacy, as Enrique Riquelme has already done. The sports project will have a lot of weight, and it remains to be seen whether the president publicly reveals his decision to sign Mourinho – a decision that is unwavering, despite the fact that the price has now skyrocketed.
