Iker Casillas gives blunt 'personal opinion' on Jose Mourinho rumours amid speculation of Real Madrid return - 'I don't want him'
Updated 12/05/2026 at 20:52 GMT+1
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Former Real Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas does not believe Jose Mourinho should become the club's next head coach, amid growing speculation that the Portuguese will replace Alvaro Arbeloa.
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The 63-year-old is reportedly in final negotiations to return to the Bernabeu, 13 years after his first spell ended.
He is currently in charge of Benfica, but looks set to end that spell and return to Madrid, where he won La Liga, the Copa del Rey and the Spanish Super Cup, during a three-year tenure from 2010-2013.
Casillas was Madrid's first-choice goalkeeper for most of Mourinho's time in charge until he was dropped in December 2012.
He has made clear his opinion on a potential second spell for Mourinho at the Bernabeu.
"I have no problem with Mourinho," Casillas wrote on X. "I think he's a great professional. I just don't want him at Real Madrid.
"I believe other coaches would be better suited to manage the club I love. That's just my personal opinion. Nothing more"
Mourinho spent three seasons at Real Madrid after joining the club from Inter in 2010.
He won the La Liga title in 2011/12, setting the record for the most points in a single season with 100, which Barcelona matched the following campaign.
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His team also set the existing outright record for most goals in a La Liga season with 121, as they got the better of Pep Guardiola's Barcelona.
After leaving Real Madrid in 2013, Mourinho went on to manage Chelsea for a second time, before spells at Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur.
In the last five years, he has been with Serie A side Roma, Turkish club Fenerbahce and, currently, Portuguese giants Benfica.
Mourinho's status has declined in the eyes of some observers since he was last in the Spanish capital, but it appears his vast experience and authority appeal to president Florentino Perez.
Real Madrid have endured a dismal few weeks, crashing out of the UEFA Champions League to Bayern Munich before watching Barcelona celebrate a second successive La Liga title with victory in El Clasico.
The training-ground scrap between Federico Valverde and Aurelien Tchouameni was another negative story for the club, who are set to go trophyless in a disappointing season.
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Current head coach Alvaro Arbeloa, Xabi Alonso's replacement in January, has struggled to achieve consistency in results, with a run of five straight wins preceding two victories in eight games since the start of April.
Alonso, who emerged as one of the brightest young coaches in Europe after excelling with Bayer Leverkusen, was given only half a season before being dismissed.
And Casillas suggested the former Real Madrid and Liverpool midfielder should have been given longer.
"It's not something I have to decide, but I'd have liked Xabi Alonso to have stayed," Casillas said ahead of El Clasico.
"He had a pretty good system of play, and I think as a fairly young coach he's more than qualified for Real Madrid.
"If you ask me, I would sign up Xabi Alonso again."
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Mourinho, meanwhile, looked to distance himself from the speculation in a press conference ahead of Benfica's 2-2 draw with Braga.
"I had no contact whatsoever, neither with the president, nor with any of the important people in the structure," he said.
"And by my own decision, a decision similar to others I've made throughout my career, especially now, in the final stages of the season, I don't speak to anyone.
"I haven't had any contact with Real Madrid. I haven't, and until the last league game against Estoril, I won't either.
"After that, there's a one-week window where I'll have the freedom to speak to whomever I feel I should speak to, but all the stories that have come out, demands, meetings, it's all speculation."
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