Main candidates to take over the royal club's reins

2026-04-30 10:00 © PA Wire/PA Images

In 2025, Real Madrid hired Xabi Alonso – a coach they had been eyeing for several months and years. It seemed like the start of a new project, but everything collapsed in less than a year, and now the royal club must step back into the coaching market, hoping to find a person who not only ends a trophy drought that has lasted for two seasons but also someone with whom stability can be found. The club's fans may sigh a bit, as in some sense, one can experience deja vu.

Eurofootball.lt highlights three main candidates to take over the Real team’s helm.

1. José Mourinho – president Florentino Pérez's favorite

Among the candidates, the Spanish press mentions only one person who has already coached the Real team, and that is José Mourinho, who, according to reports, is the favorite of club president Florentino Pérez. He coached this Madrid club between 2010 and 2013 and during that time won three trophies, including an impressive triumph in the 2011-12 La Liga season. After his remarkable spells at Porto, Chelsea, and Inter, Florentino Pérez was determined to lure the Portuguese, and he succeeded. Mourinho's recent clubs raise some questions – AS Roma, Fenerbahçe, Benfica. Certainly, AS Roma's results after Mourinho's departure did not significantly improve, the same can be said about Fenerbahçe, while with Benfica this season, José is not losing in Portugal and, seemingly, will secure a place in the Champions League, so the work is being done as required. After all, Carlo Ancelotti returned to Real after coming from Everton.

2. Jürgen Klopp – a dream return to football

The Real club can be viewed in many ways, but objectively speaking, the prestige of this club is such that it is one of the best to return to football. In 2024, after his impressive spell at Liverpool, Jürgen Klopp is actively linked with Real Madrid. According to the Onda Cero newspaper, Klopp, along with Mourinho, is one of the two strongest favorites to take the reins of the royal club. More people in the club prefer the German, while Mourinho is regarded as a backup option despite the president's word. Throughout his career, J. Klopp has achieved nearly everything in Germany, leaving a significant mark in England, and now perhaps it is time to establish himself as one of the all-time greats by coaching at Real?

3. Mauricio Pochettino – good synergy found with Kylian Mbappé

The United States national team coach Mauricio Pochettino can certainly be highlighted as the third favorite for the position of head coach at Real, as confirmed by the Spanish media. COPE journalist Miguel Angel Díaz even expressed his belief that the Argentine managing the US national team will become the new coach of the royal club. Other journalists, like Matteo Moretto and Mario Cortegana – some of the most reliable in this business – also speak about Pochettino's appeal to club president Florentino Pérez. However, at this moment, it seems that Pochettino is trailing behind José Mourinho and Jürgen Klopp, although he is highly regarded. Speaking of the strategist's situation, he was linked with a return to Tottenham during the season. The Argentine, who shone there, was already associated with Real at that time, so it is clear where Florentino Pérez's affinities may have arisen. The last teams that Pochettino coached are the US national team, Chelsea, and PSG. In the latter, he established a good relationship with current Real star Kylian Mbappé, who shone in the brightest colors.

Worth mentioning: Julian Nagelsmann and Didier Deschamps. Both coaches are currently intensively preparing for the world football championship with their national teams. However, Deschamps should bid farewell to Les Bleus after this championship, while Nagelsmann's situation is somewhat less clear. He knows he has interest from major European clubs, but the German football federation could also have a say if the champion Die Mannschaft has an unsuccessful outcome. They are worth mentioning also due to the Spanish press's praises – both have been mentioned from time to time.