Mourinho Refuses To Be Drawn Into Real Madrid Links

The 56-year-old Portuguese has been without a club since leaving Manchester United last December but that might soon change as Real Madrid are reportedly keeping tabs on him as a potential replacement for Zinedine Zidane.

Zidane led Real Madrid to three UEFA Champions League titles between 2016 and 2018 before resigning, but the Frenchman has been unable to replicate the success that characterized his first stint since replacing Santiago Solari in March.

Wednesday’s crushing 3-0 loss to French champions Paris Saint Germain in the UEFA Champions League was the latest in a series of unconvincing displays by Real Madrid, who invested heavily in the summer, bringing in the likes of Eden Hazard, Luka Jovic, Ferland Mendy and Eder Militao for big money.

Mourinho led Real Madrid to the La Liga title and Copa del Rey between 2010 and 2013 before a fallout with some senior figures at the club led to his departure, but as he is currently unattached rumours of a reunion refuse to go away.

The former Chelsea and Inter Milan manager however insists that out of respect for Zidane, he will not comment on the situation in the Spanish capital.

"There are two types of rumours. One, when one speaks about Zidane, who is one of ours and it hurts us when our teams aren't going well," Mourinho said in an interview with Deportes Cuatro.

"You have to live with it. Zidane is in football all his life and he knows it. The other type of rumour is to put my name in there and I don't like that. There are problems in many places, but another thing is [to have] respect.

"I wouldn't like to return [to Madrid] because they have a manager and I can't coach a team who have a manager.

"You can speak with respect about the club but also about the manager, who isn't just anyone.

"I am out of it. I'm not just blowing smoke. I would like that things turn out well and everything gets fixed."

Real Madrid sit third on the La Liga table with two wins and two draws after four games ahead of their clash with leaders Sevilla at the weekend, where a win could take them top, and Mourinho points to that as things not being so bad at the Bernabeu.

"They're third or fourth, no? Close to being first. It's not bad," he added.

"If you look at if pragmatically, if you focus on the table, they're right there.

"Now, they play Sevilla and if they win, they go ahead of them. Barcelona are behind them and Atletico are a point ahead."