Mourinho To Real Madrid

Times Online: Mourinho to quit for £40m Real Madrid deal.

JOSE MOURINHO is to take on the challenge of returning Real Madrid to the summit of European football, having done the same with Inter Milan last night. He has agreed to become the Spanish giants’ new manager this week in a £40m four-year deal. Mourinho told the Inter president, Massimo Moratti, of his decision to swap Italy for Spain after beating Bayern Munich 2-0 to win the Champions League final at Real’s Bernabeu stadium.

After the game, Mourinho said: “I want to become the only coach to win the Champions League with three different clubs.” He previously won the trophy with Porto. Last night Mourinho completed an unprecedented treble of Serie A, Coppa Italia and Champions League wins. He will be paid at least £10m a year after tax — the highest salary ever paid to a football manager.

According to the terms of Mourinho’s contract at Inter, the Italian club are entitled to £14.5m in compensation, which would constitute a record “transfer fee” for a manager. There were indications yesterday, though, that Moratti would be prepared to waive part or all of that sum as a thank you to Mourinho, inset, for his achievements in two trophy-laden seasons at San Siro.

Mourinho has been promised unprecedented control at Madrid. In contrast to the transfer policy directed by club president Florentino Perez that bought Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo for record fees, their new coach will concentrate on balancing the squad by recruiting primarily in defensive areas.

The first signing will be Inter right-back Maicon, a Brazil international who has rejected approaches from Manchester City and Chelsea to continue working with Mourinho. The 28-year-old had already made Inter aware that he would leave the club after the final and is expected to command a fee of between £18m and £23m. Mourinho also wants an elite central defender and a left-back. Aleksandar Kolarov, the Serbia international he tried to sign from Lazio last summer, is his preferred recruit.