Jose Mourinho could reject Saudi Pro League again to rejoin former club

Jose Mourinho could be set to reject another Saudi Pro League bid as he is reportedly named on the shortlist to join Real Madrid.

Earlier this year, Carlo Ancelotti was confirmed to be taking over the Brazilian national team from Fernando Diniz.

And while Los Blancos have yet to announce that the 64-year-old is offiically leaving his post, it looks as if they are already on the hunt for his replacement.

One of the names reportedly being considered is Mourinho, whose tie with Roma is also coming to an end this summer.

While there have been rumours of a potential extension, the 60-year-old is expected to leave the Serie A squad at the end of the 2023/24 season.

While Real Madrid are seemingly interested, an Italian-based publication recently claimed that both Al Ahli and Al Ittihad are willing to offer him €50m (£43.6m) per season.

Interestingly, this isn’t the first time that Mourinho has been offered a lucrative offer to join the Saudi Pro League.

Earlier this year, he announced that he had already rejected an offer, and now it seems as if he’s setting up to knock the Middle East back again.

As per Spanish publication Mundo Deportivo, the former Real Madrid boss has been shortlisted to replace Ancelotti this summer.

It comes ten years after the Portuguese manager concluded a three-year stint with the club, having previously taken over from Manuel Pellegrini.

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During the course of three seasons, Mourinho won 128 of 178 played games and helped the team claim the Copa del Rey, the La Liga title, and the Supercopa de Espana.

Following the 2013 Copa del Rey final loss to Atletico Madrid, the 60-year-old claimed the 2012/13 season was the ‘worst’ of his career, and it was announced three days later that his contract had been terminated by ‘mutual agreement’.

If Mourinho is appointed as Real’s new head coach, it will not be the first time that the club has welcomed back an old manager.

Thirteen managers including Fabio Capello, Zinedine Zidane and Ancelotti himself have all coached the team on more than one occasion.

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