Real Madrid meet as Mourinho exit speculation grows

AFP/Madrid

Real Madrid directors have called a board meeting as speculation mounts that coach Jose Mourinho is heading for the exit after a season he himself described as the worst of his career.

Directors brought forward a weekly meeting, usually held later in the week, a club spokesman said. “There is indeed a meeting of the board of directors scheduled for today,” said the spokesman. “I have no idea what topics will be raised,” he added.

Real Madrid suffered a shock 2-1 loss to derby rivals Atletico Madrid in the final of the Spanish Cup on Friday, leaving Mourinho’s players with no silverware this season since they lifted the Spanish Super Cup last August.

“This is the worst season of my career with a title that is not sufficient to satisfy Real Madrid and therefore it is a bad season,” Mourinho, who is widely expected to return to Chelsea next season, said after their defeat.

“I have a contract for three more years and I have still not sat down with the president to talk about my future,” Mourinho said when asked if he expected to be in charge at the Bernabeu next season. “I have to be honest. Until the day that the president sits down with me and the club does something official, it has to be like this.”

Paris Saint-Germain coach Carlo Ancelotti confirmed Sunday, however, that he wants to leave the French champions to take over at Real Madrid.

Lampard would welcome Mourinho reunion

Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard yesterday admitted he would love to work with Jose Mourinho again. Lampard credits Mourinho with giving him the belief to become a world-class performer during their time together at Chelsea between 2004 and 2007. Real have already had an approach rejected for Carlo Ancelotti, currently in charge at French champions Paris Saint-Germain, and Mourinho’s exit seems only a matter of time.

Lampard, who recently signed a new one-year contract after becoming Chelsea’s all-time leading scorer, remains a big admirer of Mourinho and asked what makes his former boss so successful, the England international told TalkSPORT: “It’s a presence and an aura and a way with people. “He galvanises people. His own self-confidence reflects back on his teams. He did that to me personally.

“Tactically he’s fantastic. He’s very astute. As a team he sets you up brilliantly. But what he does is he gets the best out of players and gets this togetherness that I’d never known until he came to the club and I haven’t seen it again since then. “He might rub people up the wrong way. But as a manager, he’s brilliant with his team tactically, he’s brilliant with individuals and I think he’s brilliant with the press. I know it creates a storm but he does protect his players.” Mourinho’s previous spell at Chelsea brought the west London team two Premier League titles, including the club’s first for 50 years, the FA Cup and the two League Cups.