Although Jose Mourinho once appeared to be the overwhelming favourite to replace Santiago Solari at Real Madrid, the Spanish club's board landed the return of Zinedine Zidane instead, and the reason they decided against rehiring the Portuguese tactician has now reportedly been revealed.
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The former Manchester United boss was, at one point, heavily tipped to return to Los Blancos, especially considering his healthy relationship with president Florentino Perez.
Sections of Real's home crowd were even reportedly heard chanting Mourinho's name during the team's 4-1 defeat to Ajax Amsterdam in the UEFA Champions League last week, and it seemed certain he was to be the man who would be their next manager.
However, Perez decided to persuade Zidane to return to the 13-time UCL champions instead, an offer the Frenchman insisted he simply could not refuse.
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Addressing the latest events, former Real chief Ramon Calderon suggested that senior members of the Los Blancos squad were against the idea of Mourinho returning.
"The dressing room leaders pushed to reject the possibility of Jose Mourinho," he told Sky Sports.
"He left (Real Madrid) a lot of problems and I think he would have been another problem to the ones we already have if he had come.
"I think Jose Mourinho would have been a step backwards, there was a lot of problems and controversy when he was here.
"He is a good coach with a lot of trophies, but many of the leaders in the dressing room didn't like him and I think that was important in the decision-making."
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Despite winning three trophies in his three-year stint at Real between 2010 and 2013, Mourinho fell out with some big names at the club, including Sergio Ramos and Iker Casillas.
Do you think Perez made the right decision in bringing Zidane back to the Bernabeu? Let us know in the comments section below.
