Mourinho not a short-term or long-term option for Real Madrid

Manchester United's decision to fire Jose Mourinho has sparked rumours that the Portuguese could return to Real Madrid, but the club directors are not thinking about hiring him in the short term or in the long term.

Confidence in Santiago Solari remains and directors believe he can lead the side into February and into the Champions League knockouts in good form.

Mourinho's relationship with Florentino Perez and with Jose Angel Sanchez may be perfect, with regular messages exchanged between the men, but this is out of politeness.

Messages of consolation have also been sent in the past few days, but nothing more.

Directors believe the Mourinho era at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu is closed and that it would be counterproductive to return to him.

The damage done by the coach in the dressing room before he left in 2013 cannot be forgotten.

His difficult experiences at Chelsea and in Manchester can't be wiped from his CV either.

This isn't to say that Los Blancos aren't looking at the market and at which coaches might be available.

They simply aren't considering Mourinho as one of their short-term or long-term options.

The view is that he it is better to maintain a friendship with the 55-year-old than to embark on another professional endeavour.