Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez praised José Mourinho for "increasing our competitiveness" during an interview on Spanish television on Wednesday, as the coach continues to be linked with a return to the club.
Mourinho is the frontrunner to succeed Álvaro Arbeloa as Madrid come to the end of a second consecutive season without winning a major trophy, following Sunday's 2-0 defeat in El Clásico confirmed Barcelona as LaLiga champions.
Pérez was speaking a day after giving a news conference which made headlines around the world for accusing the media of orchestrating a campaign against him, and said he was calling presidential elections to give Madrid members the opportunity to back him.
"I like all the coaches who've been with us," Pérez said in a 40-minute interview with journalist Josep Pedrerol on La Sexta, when asked about Mourinho. "He increased our competitiveness, that's true, and from there we won six European Cups in 10 years."
Mourinho coached Madrid from 2010 to 2013, with Madrid winning the Champions League a year after his departure, three times in a row between 2016 and 2018, and then again in 2022 and 2024.
The Portuguese manager -- currently in charge at Benfica -- has denied any contact with Madrid, although sources have told ESPN he is one of the leading candidates, on a shortlist of three, to take over at the Bernabéu.
"You're tiresome about Mourinho!" Pérez joked when pressed on the former manager's chances of a return. "People say I've talked to Mourinho, that I've talked with the France national team coach [Didier Deschamps]... I get a lot of messages saying 'sign Mourinho!' And I get others saying I shouldn't even think about it. But I don't reply."
Pérez conceded that the 2025-26 season "hasn't gone how we wanted" but denied last summer's appointment of Xabi Alonso -- who was fired in January and replaced by Arbeloa -- was a mistake.
"I think the origin of it all is in the Club World Cup," Pérez said. "We didn't have a pre-season. We had 28 injuries. We changed coach. We couldn't recover our fitness. Playing every Wednesday and Sunday, the players get injured, and our fitness wasn't sufficient."
"Of course there'll be signings," Pérez added. "There are always signings. We've always signed the best. I signed Figo, Zidane, Ronaldo, Beckham... Then in my second spell I signed Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka, Benzema. When there's a good player, I go for him."
Pérez admitted Tuesday's rare media appearance, which included a heated discussion with a journalist, had shown "a different Florentino."
He defended under-fire forward Kylian Mbappé as "the best player Madrid have right now" and denied there was any pressure to agree a new contract with Vinícius Júnior, whose current deal is up in 2027.
"Vinícius is one of the great players Madrid have," Pérez said. "The last two European Cups we won, he won them for us. There's no hurry. We'll finish this season and then we have another season to talk."
On Wednesday the businessman and Madrid member Enrique Riquelme -- who has been named as a possible candidate in these elections -- sent Pérez a letter, shared with the media, calling for a longer electoral process.
Under the club's current statues, candidates must present their candidacy within ten days of elections being called, with a two-week campaign to follow in the event of a contested election. "I believe Madrid fans deserve time, calm, and reflection," Riquelme said, asking for "dialogue" with Pérez to agree to "a longer process which allows for the real participation of our members."
