Madrid, May 17 (IANS) Portuguese manager Jose Mourinho seems to be moving closer to becoming Real Madrid coach for the second time in his career when he admitted the club had been in contact with his representative Jorge Mendes.

Speaking to the press in Portugal after leading Benfica to a 3-1 win over Estoril Praia, Mourinho was asked if he would be returning to Real Madrid after coaching the club between 2010 and 2013, reports Xinhua.

“I don’t know…the only thing I have on record is a proposal from Benfica…which I haven’t seen, but Mendes tells me it’s very good,” said Mourinho.

The 63-year-old said he hadn’t spoken directly to Real Madrid president, Florentino Perez, or anyone in the club’s structure,” but added, “I’m not stupid…and there are contacts between the club and Jorge. And I believe they will turn into contacts with me during the next week.”

Mourinho refused to rule out remaining at Benfica, insisting his “intention is to see what I have next week.”

“Nobody’s stupid, obviously something’s going on. But as I said, there’s no signed contract, no contract on the table, no talks between the Real Madrid president and me, nor talks between anyone important in the club’s structure and me.”

“At this moment, the only real and concrete thing that exists is an offer to continue from Benfica,” he explained.

Álvaro Arbeloa, whose four-month-long stint as Real Madrid coach is on its last leg, has backed Jose Mourinho’s return to the multiple-time La Liga winner, claiming he will be “happy” to see the Portuguese former boss back at the helm.

“Regarding Mourinho, I think I’ve been very clear throughout my life about what I think of him. For me, as his player, but above all as a Madridista, I feel and believe he is number one. A colleague of yours asked me a few days ago if I still think what I said when we faced him in the Champions League, and I will continue to think that José has been, is, and will always be uno di noi. If he is the one here next season, I will be very happy to see him back home,” Arbeloa said in the pre-match press conference ahead of Sunday’s clash with Sevilla.

–IANS

bsk/