Real Madrid will make a desperate attempt to steal Jose Mourinho from Manchester United’s clutches should they be eliminated from the Champions League next Tuesday, reports the Mirror.
Madrid president Florentino Perez failed in an effort to re-hire the Special One in January after dismissing his old Premier League enemy Rafael Benitez. He was rebuffed because Mourinho believed he was going to get the Man United job.
But with his Spanish giants now on the verge of finishing the season empty- handed after losing 2-0 in Wolfsburg on Wednesday in the first leg of their quarter-final, Perez is getting decidely twitchy.
Former Chelsea boss Mourinho is also getting edgy – about his chances of replacing Louis van Gaal.
Well-placed United sources are saying the club has not decided on who their manager will be next season.
Executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward is keen to keep Van Gaal as dismissing the Dutchman, however unpopular he has become among fans, would bring more pressure on his own role at the head of the club’s football operations.
And the feeling at the Old Trafford club is that Van Gaal will be kept in place if United qualify for next season’s Champions League by finishing in the top four.
Senior figures at the Bernabeu have been told by Mourinho’s camp that he expects to become United manager.
But the uncertainty has opened a door for Perez, who is angry at his side’s
under-achievement this season.
Expelled from the Copa del Rey in December and effectively out of the Spanish title race already, Madrid now face being knocked out of Europe’s premier tournament at the last-eight stage.
While Benitez’s replacement, club legend Zinedine Zidane, has improved the mood around the training ground, Wednesday’s defeat in Germany reflects badly on the inexperienced Frenchman.
And the fact that Madrid have won La Liga just once in the last eight seasons is considered completely unacceptable by the club’s board.
Mourinho was the man who delivered that solitary title and Perez will test his uncertainty over the United job should Madrid fail to claw back Wolfsburg’s two-goal advantage.
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