Portuguese giant Benfica has confirmed that Real Madrid will pay a $17.4 million (€15 million) release clause for Jose Mourinho to become its new head coach if President Florentino Perez wins the election.
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Portuguese giant Benfica has confirmed that Real Madrid will pay a $17.4 million (€15 million) release clause for Jose Mourinho to become its new head coach if President Florentino Perez wins the election.
The Lisbon-based club used Portugal’s financial regulator, the CMWM, to release a statement on the matter on Thursday afternoon in Europe.
“Sport Lisboa e Benfica announces that, as part of his campaign for the Real Madrid CF presidency, President Florentino Perez has stated his firm intention to appoint Jose Mario dos Santos Mourinho Felix as manager should he win the club’s presidential election, scheduled for 7 June 2026,” the correspondence read.
“Should this scenario arise, the appointment will be made for a fee of €15,000,000, corresponding to the termination clause in the current sports employment contract,” it then added.
The release clause has indeed risen, as it was only believed to be worth $8.135 million (€7 million) as recently as last week.
That’s because Madrid, or any other club interested in Mourinho, had 10 working days after Benfica’s last game of the season on May 16 – a 3-1 away win at Estoril – to activate the lower fee.
Benfica and its president Rui Costa have tried but seemingly failed to get Mourinho to extend his contract which expires on June 30, 2027, after he led The Eagles to a third place Liga finish.
Mourinho is at the cornerstone of Real Madrid president Perez’s re-election campaign
On Wednesday evening, Perez tried to deflect attention away from his main rival at the ballot box, Enrique Riquelme, featuring on Spanish television program El Hormiguero.
While Riquelme promised that he will land Erling Haaland and Rodri if voted in on June 7, which has resulted in Manchester City threatening him with legal action, Perez used X to announce the signing of Mourinho.
Speaking about Mourinho in an AS interview where he seemed to confess Kylian Mbappe hasn’t been a success at the Bernabeu so far, Perez noted how the Portuguese “was very important for Real Madrid at the time when he was with us” during the early 2010s.
“He was the coach of that famous League of Records. He gave the team very high levels of competitiveness and that was very important for everything that was achieved afterwards,” Perez further said.
If Perez wins re-election and Mourinho is appointed, he’s charged with once again building a Real Madrid team that knocks a dommestically dominant FC Barcelona and Hansi Flick off their perch.