This comes after a day when Mourinho’s last club Benfica had announced that Real Madrid had expressed their intention to hire the Portuguese, stating that the coach has already agreed to the move.

“Real Madrid CF ⁠has ​formally expressed its intention to hire Jose Mourinho for 15 million euros ($17.31 million), and that ​the ​manager has agreed to ⁠the move,” Benfica said in a statement.

The Portuguese side ‌also confirmed that Marco Silva will replace Mourinho as their new manager.

Florentino Perez had pledged to ⁠bring ⁠the Portuguese manager back to the club, where he ⁠had ‌previously coached from ​2010 to 2013, provided ‌he was re-elected at Real president.

Perez secured his position ‌on Monday ​after ​surviving ​the club’s first genuine presidential contest in two ​decades. Real have come away ⁠empty handed over the past two seasons, during which Barcelona have ‌secured ⁠back-to-back LaLiga titles.

A couple of days ago, Real had confirmed that they have parted ways with head coach Alvaro Arbeloa after reaching a mutual agreement.

Arbeloa, a former Real defender who had previously coached the club’s youth and reserve sides, was ⁠appointed ​in January to replace compatriot Xabi Alonso and guided the 15-times European champions to a second-place finish in LaLiga.

Alonso had left ​after a ​Spanish Super Cup defeat ⁠by Barcelona, but Arbeloa also struggled to steady a fractured dressing room ‌as the team’s form declined.

“Real Madrid C. F. and Alvaro Arbeloa have reached an agreement to end his time as coach of the first team,” the club said in a statement.

“Real Madrid ⁠is very ⁠grateful to Alvaro Arbeloa, who throughout his career at the club, ⁠since ‌he arrived at our youth ​academy, has always shown loyalty, ‌commitment and professionalism. He represents an example of the values of our ‌club.”