Real Madrid to formally unveil José Mourinho as head coach next Sunday or Monday

Real Madrid plan to announce José Mourinho as head coach on Sunday or Monday, after the club’s final LaLiga game of the season this weekend, according to ESPN, which cited club sources. The report said the timing is tied to the end of the domestic campaign rather than an immediate midweek statement. Real Madrid host Athletic Club at the Santiago Bernabéu on Saturday in their final league match, according to the club’s website and LaLiga’s fixture list. The club has not yet issued a formal announcement on Mourinho’s appointment. ### Why are Sunday and Monday the key dates? ESPN reported on May 20 that Real Madrid intend to make Mourinho’s return official next Sunday or Monday, once the 2025-26 LaLiga season has ended. The report said club sources linked the announcement to the close of the campaign. Saturday’s match at the Bernabéu is listed by Real Madrid as a LaLiga Matchday 38 fixture against Athletic Club. LaLiga’s official schedule also shows Madrid entering the final round with 37 matches played. ### What has Real Madrid said publicly so far? Real Madrid’s official website had not published a statement naming Mourinho as head coach in the search results available on Wednesday. (msn.com) The club site instead continued to carry first-team material under Álvaro Arbeloa, including a May 16 press conference and a coach profile page identifying Arbeloa as first-team coach. (realmadrid.com) The absence of an official statement means the expected timing still rests on sourcing carried by ESPN and repeated by other outlets on Wednesday. Goal also reported that Madrid were set to announce Mourinho after the league season and said the deal would run for two years. (realmadrid.com) ### What do the reports say about Mourinho’s deal? Goal reported Mourinho was ready to return on a two-year contract. ESPN’s related reporting, surfaced in syndicated search results on Wednesday, also said Mourinho had agreed a two-year deal to rejoin Real Madrid. (goal.com) José Mourinho previously coached Real Madrid from 2010 to 2013, and the club’s history page lists him among its notable first-team coaches. Real Madrid’s official site does not yet show a new tenure for him on current first-team pages. ### What is happening at Real Madrid right now? Real Madrid enter the final weekend of the league season in second place on 83 points, behind Barcelona on 94, according to LaLiga’s standings shown on the league site. (goal.com) That leaves Saturday’s match as the last competitive step before the expected coaching announcement. The club website’s current front page lists the Athletic Club fixture for Saturday night at the Bernabéu and does not include any coaching announcement. (realmadrid.com) That sequencing matches the timeline described by ESPN’s club sources. ### What should readers watch for next? Sunday, May 24, and Monday, May 25, are the dates identified in the ESPN report for Real Madrid’s formal move. Any confirmation is most likely to appear first on Real Madrid’s official website or channels after the Athletic Club match concludes on Saturday. (laliga.com) (msn.com) (realmadrid.com)