Jose Mourinho wants former Real Madrid player as part of coaching staff

Prospective Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho is currently planning for next season at the club, and is shaping his coaching staff to come in with him. While that will likely include a lot of his staff from Benfica, he is also keen to find a figure to link his staff with the Real Madrid players.

Mourinho is expected to take charge next week at Real Madrid if Florentino Perez remains unchallenged as President. It could be delayed if Perez is running in the elections, but either way, Perez is the heavy favourite to remain president, and Mourinho is his choice to replace Alvaro Arbeloa.

According to Marca, Mourinho is keen to bring in a ‘firefighter’ this summer to help ease the dressing room tensions at Valdebebas. In essence, he is keen to have a former Real Madrid player come in as a link between himself and the squad, that can help mediate situations in the dressing room. The role is alternatively described as a ‘team manager’, and Zinedine Zidane carried out a similar duty during Carlo Ancelotti’s first spell. When Zidane became Castilla manager, Fernando Hierro took over his duties. Under Mourinho, it was assistant Aitor Karanka.

That is the remaining member of Mourinho’s staff to be decided, say Diario AS. Benfica assistant manager Joao Tralhao will accompany Mourinho from Portugal, as will Pedro Machado, fitness coach Antonio Dias and analyst Roberto Merella. Goalkeeping coach Nuno Santos is also likely to follow, while Ricardo Formosinho and Ricardo Rocha will not be following him.

Those additions also place doubt over the roles of fitness coach Antonio Pintus and goalkeeing coach Luis Llopis. The latter has been at Real Madrid since 2021, and is in his second spell, having previously been there between 2015 and 2018. It brings the controversial figure of Pintus back into the spotlight again. Dismissed in 2025, Pintus was brought back by the club in January after Xabi Alonso’s exit, but struggled to reduce the number of injuries at Real Madrid.