Reports in Spain have claimed that Jose Mourinho missed out on an offer of the Real Madrid job due to the negative impressions he’s left on both staff and players at the Bernabeu during his first spell there.
Another former Chelsea manager, Antonio Conte, is set to ink an agreement with the club today according to El Pais, ahead of a mooted unveiling tomorrow.
But some interesting details of the search that Florentino Pérez has undertaken in recent days and weeks have emerged from the same Spanish outlet.
They claim that Jose Mourinho was on a two-man shortlist along with Conte, but while Perez still respects the Portuguese and felt there was sections of the fans who looked upon his spell at the club from 2010-2013 with nostalgia.
In the end, though, felt that the Manchester United boss: “has lost the mental energy necessary to maintain [at a] competitive level.”
Perez, reportedly, found also that his stock among the players was low. The President sent feelers out to senior members of the squad and received an “extremely unfavourable” response.
Sergio Ramos and Marcelo, two leaders of the dressing room, are quoted as being concerned about Mourinho being “too vengeful to avoid a conflict” with the players he felt turned against him and forced him out of the club five years ago.
That meant a two-man shortlist was cut to one.
Club captain Sergio Ramos is reportedly less than keen on that final choice of Conte, having been told by the Spanish players in the Chelsea squad that the Italian was “unbearable”.
Uncertain times, indeed, then, at the home of the Champions League holders Real.
