The Only Man Ruthless Enough To Fix Real Madrid

Breaking news and it's about Jose Mourinho

Jose Mourinho is back. Here we go. This is the most shocking managerial appointment of the decade and I'm all for it

13 years after leaving the Spanish capital and a storm of controversy, Jose Mourinho is returning to Real Madrid

Hate him or love him, for better or worse, we shall be entertained. But why have they done it

Why have the biggest club in the world felt the need to look into their past in order to fix their future

And what exactly is on the Special Ones list of things to fix? From dressing room drama to a divided fan base, this is why Real Madrid are completely broken

Jose's return may be coming off the back of one of the club's worst seasons in terms of performances

identity and ultimately silverware, but Florentino Perez hasn't recalled the special one to construct

a beautiful tactical project. He has recalled him because Real Madrid are facing a total

institutional crisis. Let's start with the dressing room, where a team full of stars and

egos have chewed up and spit out three managers in two years before seemingly turning on each other

There is an old football cliche that a dressing room can feel like an asylum, and now it seems like the inmates have taken control

The illusion of a unified Real Madrid family is no more and frankly it was shattered entirely during a recent training session

where Fede Valverde and Aurelien Chouameni butted heads over a poorly timed challenge

Sure, these things happen in training. You've got two top-level competitive athletes who want to win at everything all the time

but what normally doesn't happen is the arguments spilling over into the changing room afterwards

and ending in a physical altercation with Valverde needing treatment for a small cut on his head

By the way, this was also just a few days before El Clasico in which rivals Barcelona would win

and clinch yet another La Liga title. The club did come out and deny many claims

but then when both players involved at the fight were fined €500,000 each

the admission of guilt is wrapped up in that as well. However, unbelievably enough, this isn't even the biggest issue in the dressing room right now

Oh no. That belongs to the question of what to do about Kylian Mbappe

Uno, dos, tres, a la Madrid! There is absolutely no doubt that the French forward is a superstar

The complete player, one of the best in the world. But things just don really seem to work when he around The area of the pitch that he likes to operate in often clashes with Vinicius Jr and his utter lack of defensive work rate has compromised the squad balance

and given every manager an extremely difficult tactical hurdle to overcome, never mind the hurdle of dealing with one of the biggest personalities in the game

It has now been two years at the club for him and they've won nothing. And to top it all off, he's now playing under the shadow of what is undoubtedly

one of the most embarrassing public votes of no confidence that a player has ever received probably

anywhere. A petition signed by over 50 million fans to get him out of the club. Regardless of

whether or not they are all Real Madrid fans in that petition, that is an absurd number and one

that's impossible to ignore. But what it does show is that there is some divide in the fan base

A fan base notorious for not being the most patient or the most supportive when one of their players

apparently turns their back. And Abappe has lit a fire that hasn't just burned

within the confines of the playing squad, but has crept upwards within the organisation too

Now, this toxic internal atmosphere has created a massive unprecedented rift within the club's fan base

And that's fine if it's just about the team and the players. Football fans all over the world debate to their hearts content

about who should be in the team, who shouldn't, who they don't like, the usual chit-chat

I don't think many people would say their club is in crisis if the discussion is just about the players

But when cracks appear in their relationship with the coach, then things start getting a little bit dicey

So imagine the response when Kylian Mbappe said in a press conference recently that he was being treated like a fourth-choice striker

Only for manager Alvarado to say that he, in fact, never said anything like that

I'm all for the excuse of things being lost in translation, but this ain't it. There's no way that things were that wildly misconstrued

When the standard of professionalism has been openly mocked by the club's highest earner

it's an act of complete defiance towards the club and the fans too

Right now, it looks like the fans feel utterly disconnected from a team of detached mercenaries

who seem more focused on the upcoming 2026 World Cup than the prestige of wearing the white shirt

So, by hiring Mourinho, is President Florentino Perez throwing the fans a lifeline

Mourinho is a proven winner who commands ultimate, unshakable respect, But, given his recent managerial achievements, you could argue he's not exactly in his prime

In that case then, why has Papa Perez, as he's affectionately known, made this decision

Florentino Perez recently stunned the footballing world by calling for early presidential elections

amidst intense media scrutiny over not only the club direction but also his health More than anyone he understands the fragile psychology of the Madrid Socios the club members and if they angry about a trophy season his kingdom is somewhat vulnerable

He needed a massive, explosive distraction to shift the narrative away from his boardroom struggles

so he got on the phone and dialed Mourinho for emergencies. Hiring him is the ultimate political shield

It's not a subtle, tactical hire designed to smoothly integrate Mbappe and Vinicius

calmly and coolly coerce Valverde and Chiumeni into being best buddies again

it is a calculated move to set fire to the current squad dynamic

and create a fierce us-versus-them siege mentality. Mourinho is the master of deflection

He will gladly absorb all media criticism, protect the presidency, and unite a fractured fanbase against external enemies like the referees, journalists, and everyone at Barcelona

By placing the ultimate media lightning rod in the dugout, Perez has successfully ensured that the upcoming election will be a celebration of Madrid's defiance

rather than a referendum on his own failures. So it's all well and good in stalling, Mourinho, right

But what are the actual expectations this time around, and what is he going to fix on the pitch

Before we get to that, though, here's a quick nudge in the direction of our 442 magazine

on which there is a brilliant offer for you right now of up to 36% off various subscription packages

All you have to do is click the link in the description and choose whichever one suits you best. But for now, let's get back to the video

Unsurprisingly enough, as it was back in 2010 when he was last hired

the main aim for Mourinho is to dismantle and destroy Barcelona's grip on domestic football

Back then though, he had Pep Guardiola to deal with, and as good as Hansi Flick and Laminya Mal and co. are, they aren't quite messy in Pep

So arguably, things are a little bit less daunting this time around. But what is interesting though, is if you draw comparisons to 2010

Mourinho had a fiercely loyal core of Spanish leaders. like Sergio Ramos and Ica Casillas

Whereas today it feels like Real Madrid on the whole don't quite have enough skin in the Spanish national game

to really suck the fans and opposition players into a rivalry whether they like it or not

Jose must build those relationships from scratch with a group of players who have already shown

that they'll rebel against any authority. So to give him the tools he needs

a massive summer transfer window is looming and well, that's not really surprising

This is Real Madrid we're talking about. Every window is a massive opportunity to spend massive amounts of money

Rumours are already swirling that the club are ready to strip away Mbappe's untouchable status

but given the new financials in the Premier League and just in general anyways no one can afford him When it comes to Fede Valverde there is also talk of a Premier League move Manchester United are the tip to sign a central midfielder this summer and he fits the bill but is he within the realms of financial possibility I actually say so However with

Real it's never about who's leaving it's about who's coming in. There's two who seem fairly

sensible and realistic and in fact one name has actually been touted for quite some time

because it looks like he wants to move to Real Madrid regardless of who's in charge and that

is Rodri. I mean, back to what I said before about being Spanish, a leader consistently brilliant

What's not to like about him? He can provide some excellent defensive balance to this team

of attacking megastars. And given he's heading into the last year of his contract, the 29-year-old

could be available for around a quoted £30 million. Even if it was more, they'd still pay

But overall, it represents a great deal and allows Mourinho to build the team around a very

dependable, level-headed balance profile. The other name is also one that seems to fit this

defensive-minded solidity profile and is much needed in a tactical sense as he can cover both

the central and left-sided defensive positions in place of the departing David Alaba and pretty much

every other defender who gets injured and that is Josco Gvardiel. Now I do realize raiding Manchester

City for two players is unlikely just because they don't want their squad pulled apart by a

Champions League rival but with the emergence of Nico O'Reilly in particular the signing of Ryan

like Nori last summer and the signing of Marguerite in January, does Guardiola have a guaranteed

starting spot a city when everyone is fit? I don't think so. You could make the same argument for

when everyone's fit around Madrid, but like I said, that never seems to happen, especially in defence. So with those two coming in, we're seeing the wheels starting to turn on this new

age Mourinho bus, but don't mistake pragmatism for boredom. Lest we forget that in his last spell

he set the record, which still stands today, for the most goals in the La Liga campaign with 120

and he also shares the record for the most wins in the Spanish league season with 32

So it's not all ugly. Real Madrid have arrived at an historic crossroads

The Galacticos experiment of the mid-2020s has fractured under the weight of fragile egos

training ground brawls and a furious fan base. By bringing back Jose Mourinho, Florentino Perez is betting everything

on the ultimate high-risk, high-reward strategy. Mourinho's first spell ended in a toxic civil war

This time, he's being brought in while the civil war is already raging. tasked with using his trademark ruthlessness to burn out the rot

If it all sounds so uncertain, good, because chaos is where Mourinho thrives

and what better stage to witness it all unfold than the bright lights of the Bernabeu