Former Real Madrid president Ramon Calderon believes Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho will return to Los Blancos. Speaking to ESPN, Calderon said Florentino Perez only has the return of Jose Mourinho on his mind.
“If this president is with the team for a few years, and I think he will be, Mourinho will be here. No doubt. It’s the only coach the president has respected. For better or worse,” said Calderon, before adding, “And I think he will be here, if he leaves Manchester [United] of course, now he’s Manchester coach. But sooner or later, I think he will be here.”
Real Madrid boss Julen Lopetegui’s future is still not clear and one bad result in Sunday’s game against Barcelona will see him being sacked. However, Calderon feels Lopetegui should be given some more time before he gets the pink slip.
Earlier, Brazilian footballer, Marcelo had accepted that Real Madrid’s all-time highest goalscorer Cristiano Ronaldo’s exit from Los Blancos came as “a surprise” to everyone, but the defender believes “the club is bigger than any player”.
After winning the Champions League crown for the fifth time in his career, Cristiano Ronaldo had hinted that a new challenge could be on the cards. However, many were shocked when it was announced that CR7 had called time on a record-breaking stint at Santiago Bernabeu to join Italian champions Juventus.
After Cristiano’s departure, Real have not made any marquee signings to replace their former talisman.
Though Real Madrid has struggled in the post-Ronaldo era, Marcelo feels the club will recover from the departure of the five-time Ballon d’Or awardee as La Liga giants have done on several occasions in the past.
Marcelo told his official YouTube channel, “Ending our holidays and coming back to the routine of Real Madrid without Cristiano Ronaldo was a surprise for us, we thought he wouldn’t go,” before adding, “Real Madrid is a huge club, Cristiano Ronaldo is huge too, but the club is bigger than any player. The history of Real Madrid is impressive and Cristiano Ronaldo added a piece more to the history of this club, but Real Madrid can’t stop.”
Marcelo added, “The player changes club, stops playing, retires and Real Madrid will still be here.”
Currently, Real Madrid is at the seventh spot on the La Liga table.