The wait is over for Real Madrid fans as the club has officially confirmed the reappointment of Jose Mourinho as head coach.
The 63-year-old Portuguese manager has signed a three-year deal and will begin work when the squad returns for pre-season training on 13 July.
Real Madrid paid Benfica £13m in compensation to secure his services, bringing him back to the Bernabeu more than a decade after his first stint ended.
Club president Florentino Perez had publicly vowed to reappoint Mourinho if he secured re-election to the presidency earlier this month.
Perez, who is 79 and has held the role since 2009, defeated challenger and renewable energy magnate Enrique Riquelme by claiming 65% of the votes cast.
The election result paved the way for one of the most anticipated managerial returns in European football in recent memory.
This will be Mourinho’s second spell in charge of Real Madrid, with his first beginning in 2010 and running for three seasons at the Santiago Bernabeu.
That initial stint yielded a La Liga title, a Copa del Rey, and a Spanish Super Cup, cementing his legacy as a significant figure in the club’s recent history.
Since leaving Madrid, Mourinho has managed Premier League clubs Chelsea, Manchester United, and Tottenham Hotspur, as well as Roma, Fenerbahce, and most recently Benfica.
His sole season at Benfica saw him lead the club through an unbeaten Liga Portugal campaign, though that impressive run only produced a third-place finish.
Benfica moved quickly to address his departure, agreeing a deal earlier this week to appoint former Fulham manager Marco Silva as his replacement at the Portuguese club.
Mourinho returns to the Spanish capital at a challenging time, with Real Madrid having failed to lift a single trophy across the last two seasons.
The pressure will be on from the outset, and expectations at one of the world’s biggest clubs are never anything less than sky high.
Real Madrid supporters will be hoping the appointment signals the beginning of a new era of domestic and European dominance under the experienced coach.
