Mourinho Wants to Take Pepe into the Real Madrid Coaching Staff

Pepe's Real Madrid career went down in records as one of the most important defensive profiles in club history. The Portuguese centre-back, who transferred to Real Madrid from Porto in 2007, wore the club jersey for ten years and scored 15 goals in 334 official matches. During this period, Pepe won three Champions Leagues, three La Ligas, two Copa del Reys, two FIFA Club World Cups and two UEFA Super Cups with Real Madrid. The experienced centre-back, who went on a journey to Istanbul in 2017 by transferring to Beşiktaş, then returned to Porto in 2019 and continued his career at the highest level despite his advanced age. Pepe's last match, who retired from football on August 8, 2024 at the age of 41, was the Portugal-France quarter-final at the 2024 European Championship.

The common past of Pepe and Mourinho dates back to the Real Madrid period between 2010-2013. In Mourinho's first Madrid adventure, Pepe became an important part of the team's defensive backbone, taking the field in 125 matches under the Portuguese manager for three seasons. Mourinho used Pepe's aggressive defensive understanding as one of the tactical foundations of the team, even sometimes evaluating him in the midfield position in the sixth zone. The relationship of the duo had tensed near the period of Mourinho's departure from Madrid, and Pepe had criticised the manager's approach to captain Iker Casillas. Mourinho, on the other hand, had attributed this outburst of the centre-back to his being on the bench; with Raphael Varane's inclusion in the starting eleven, Pepe had lost his place and disagreements reflected in the public opinion had occurred between the two. It is stated that this tension has eased over the years and the possibility of the two names coming together again has come to the table.

On the Real Madrid side, Mourinho's coaching staff continues to take shape. In addition to the possibility of Pepe joining the assistant squad, Mourinho's close working colleague João Tralhão from the Benfica period is also expected to join the squad. It was conveyed that Pedro Machado, who has been working with Mourinho since the Fenerbahçe period, will also move to Madrid. If these three names are in the coaching staff, Mourinho will start the new period at Valdebebas with names he has worked with for years and with an iconic figure coming from the club's past. Pepe's profile, which knows Real Madrid's internal culture and can transfer leadership to footballers, stands out as the main reason for the value Mourinho wants to add to the team.

Mourinho's official appointment to the Real Madrid manager position took place after Florentino Pérez won the presidential elections on June 7, 2026. According to Fabrizio Romano, a verbal agreement was reached on a two-year contract between Mourinho and the club; a certain compensation will be paid to the club for the departure from Benfica. Mourinho has one La Liga championship, one Copa del Rey and one Spanish Super Cup in his Real Madrid period between 2010-2013. In case of reuniting with Pepe, the new story that the two names will write in Madrid is at the top of the topics that fans are eagerly waiting for. While this return offers Pepe the opportunity to combine playing and coaching experiences, for Mourinho it means gaining a reliable assistant who knows the internal dynamics of Real Madrid.

Source: Ramón Álvarez de Mon, Fabrizio Romano

Image: forbes.com