“No one has contacted me”: José Mourinho denies rumor of a return to Real

The return of José Mourinho to the Merengue bench will have to wait. The Benfica coach denied any contact with Real Madrid on Friday, despite persistent rumors announcing his return this summer to the Madrid club, which he coached from 2010 to 2013.

“No one from Real Madrid has contacted me. I can guarantee it,” Mourinho, 63, said at a press conference on the eve of the league trip to Famaliçao.

“I’ve been in football for so many years and I’m used to this kind of thing… but there’s nothing from Real Madrid. I have one year left on my contract with Benfica, and that’s it,” added Mourinho, whose side were knocked out of the Champions League by Real Madrid in the play-offs in February.

Rumors already swept away in February

The name of Mourinho, crowned champion with Real in 2012, circulates regularly to succeed Alvaro Arbeloa, appointed in January in place of Xabi Alonso, but already in the hot seat as the Madrid team moves towards a second consecutive season without a major title.

Real Madrid are 11 points behind La Liga leaders Barcelona with five games remaining and were knocked out of the Champions League by Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals.

In February, before returning to his former club in the C1 play-offs, José Mourinho had already brushed aside rumors of a return to Madrid.

“I gave everything to Real Madrid, everything I had, I did good things, I did bad things, but I gave everything and that’s it (…) The fans respect me a lot, and that’s fantastic, but I don’t want to encourage stories that have no reason to be,” declared the Portuguese.