Jose Mourinho could become Real Madrid manager for a second time as early as this month.
That is according to bookmakers Paddy Power who have slashed odds on the former Manchester United manager returning to the Bernabeu.
The Portuguese was sacked at Old Trafford last month following United's worst ever start to a Premier League campaign.
He was targeted by ambitious Benfica but is understood to have turned the job down .
Instead, he could be heading back to the Bernabeu where he presided over Real for three years between 2010 and 2013 - winning the LaLiga title and the Copa del Rey before going back to Chelsea .
The European Champions are down in fifth place in LaLiga with Santiago Solari struggling to revive the team which Zinedine Zidane guided to three consecutive Champions League triumphs.
Solari replaced axed boss Julen Lopetegui back in October but could soon be set to follow with pressure mounting after Real's shock 2-0 home defeat by Real Sociedad at the weekend.
Now Mourinho's odds have incredibly been reduced to 5/2 to take charge - with his price in at 6/1 to re-join the Spanish giants this month or at 7/2 before the end of this season.
And, with two games in the pipeline for Los Blancos this week, it’s an 8/1 shot that Mourinho is appointed before midnight on Sunday.
Other candidates for the role include Antonio Conte (7/2), Joachim Low (6/1), Massimiliano Allegri (7/1), Mauricio Pochettino (15/2) and Arsene Wenger (20/1).
Spokesman Paddy Power said: “ Real Madrid are now fifth in La Liga, and ten points behind rivals Barcelona . Which seems fitting for Jose Mourinho, who was sacked from Man United after putting them in an even worse position in the Premier League.
“And, with Santiago Solari seemingly on the brink of the sack, we believe Jose could be heading to a hotel suite in Madrid as soon as this month.”
RealMd13
93
Jose Mourinho could join Real Madrid this month in sensational next job after Man Utd Me: Perez wtf man 😂 Madridstas: we want an Lethal striker Perez: Mariano Madridstas: We want an Lethal striker Perez: Courtois Madridstas: We want max Allegri Perez: Jose Mourinho
Skildowizard
69
So Madrid are buying young stars and you want to appoint Mourinho as a manager? You better be prepared for relegation 😂😂😂😂
Mumdnsty
66
Madrid needs a coach like deschamps , pochhetinho , klopp or the real madrid legends like raul etc . These coaches know how to restablish a team with new players and they also make good signings including the selfless players ... i think perez also have to trust managers and do some signings like mbappe and kane . Madrid and football fans really bored with the bale benzema isco trio . They need some good forward players like msn who can equally score goals without depending only on one player like madrid depended on cr7 . Perez should stop his authoritarian despotic rule and be a liberal president ......
gamemasterutd
45
If Jose join Madrid then madrid will be a serious contender to win the champions league for the 4th time. However stupid Perez might be , he certainly knows that bringing Mou back into the job will gaurantee madrid trophies atleast for the 1st two seasons. Personally i think mou is a great coach but he could certainly take some time out to reflect on united job and to amend his man management skills. Cheers
bibempstz
34
I strongly believe in mou as an astute manager in the soccer arena. As I have known Jose mourinho during his Chelsea debut and the disciplinary manner the Chelsea's players were can speak for him. What I can speak on for now is the undisciplined attitude of most young players of our time. mou doesn't prefer a player as a star until you exhibit yourself as you think who you really are and your willingness to work and produce the required results. As we all may be aware, the game is about the needed results. If you think yourself as a big star then you should be able to give big results which is required of you and the squad. J.Mourinho is a world class coach and those who want his service will have him.
Lucass
31
Mourinho needs a real break, at least a year off but even if and when he's ready to come back I doubt he'd ever return to Portugal unless he's retiring or it's the NT. He'll never achieve anything better than he did with Porto.