José Mourinho is going back to where his world fame began - to the bench of Real Madrid. According to sources close to the club, the 63-year-old Portuguese has agreed an initial two-year deal and is waiting on the final formalities before flying to Madrid after Benfica's last league match.

The return isn't out of the blue. Negotiations have been going on for weeks, and president Florentino Pérez has, since the start of spring, seen Mourinho as the only possible successor to Álvaro Arbeloa. Mourinho personally informed people at Benfica he's leaving at the end of the season, and they're already looking at options for the next bench.

On paper it's all clear: Mourinho's contract with Benfica has an exit clause that activates at the end of the domestic season - a 10-day window, and whoever activates it gets him. Pérez evidently isn't waiting for anyone.

Why is Pérez going back to a familiar face? Because Madrid's season was a catastrophe without a single major trophy. A second straight year without any silverware, dressing-room tensions, unhappy fans and managerial instability that defined the last few months. Arbeloa came in as a stop-gap solution in place of Xabi Alonso in January, but the collapse in La Liga and the Champions League shut the door on him for the summer.

Mourinho was already at Madrid between 2010 and 2013 - he won La Liga, the Copa del Rey and the Supercopa, and his spell is remembered for the ferocious rivalry with Guardiola's Barcelona. Pérez evidently believes the same temperament - authority, intensity and controlled drama - is what the club needs to get back on its feet.

The question is whether Mourinho 2026 is the same coach as Mourinho 2010. The Balkan Real fans, and there are many, will know the answer from the very first matches of the August pre-season. Until then - here comes a summer in which Spain won't be quiet.