Jose Mourinho has chosen Real Madrid as his next club and Xabi Alonso will be his assistant, according to reports in Spain.
The experienced manager has been out of work since last December, when he was sacked by Manchester United, and has been involved in various punditry positions since.
Zinedine Zidane’s position at Madrid is under renewed scrutiny following Saturday’s 1-0 defeat at newly-promoted Real Mallorca and earlier this week, El Chiringuito said the club are linking up Mourinho as a replacement.
Diario AS have now reported that Mourinho has chosen Madrid as his next club and is convinced it is now no longer a question of ‘if’ but ‘when’ he will return to the club.
A subsequent report in Diario Sport claims that Xabi Alonso – currently a coach at Real Sociedad and who played under Mourinho at Madrid – has been chosen as Mourinho’s number two.
The Portuguese boss managed Los Blancos between 2010 and 2013, with the highlight of his tenure being the 2012 La Liga title.
Mourinho managed Madrid to 128 victories in his 178 matches at the helm while he also won the Copa del Rey in 2011 and the Spain Supercopa the following year.
He has been linked with a return to the Spanish capital various times over the past 12 months and is said to hold excellent relations with the club’s president Florentino Perez.
Madrid remain second in the standings in La Liga but have underwhelmed this season with Saturday night’s loss in Mallorca another low point.
A report from Diario Sport two months ago stated that Perez is keeping the option of Mourinho's return open this season.
