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Feature
- 2 hours ago
Mourinho wants Real Madrid reunion in BOMB update: Deal closer than many think
Robin Bairner
- 27 Sept 2025 12:45 BST
- 3 min read
News
Jose Mourinho has picked his first signing for Benfica, and it promises to be one that will send shockwaves through European football.
Mourinho replaced Bruno Lage in charge of the Lisbon club earlier this week and is already planning to hook up with one of his favourites from his time at Real Madrid in what is being described as a “bomb” signing.
Marca reports that the former Chelsea manager wants to reunite with Karim Benzema in Portugal. According to the Spanish source, the possibility “is closer than many people might have thought”.
Current ETV
Karim Benzema
F (C)
Karim Benzema
F (C)
Al-Ittihad
ETV Range
€3.1M - €4.6M
Mourinho trying to talk Benzema into Benfica move
Mourinho gave Benzema, who is currently playing in the Saudi Pro League with Al-Ittihad, a call and sounded him out about the possibility of playing for Benfica.
The former Real Madrid hitman is wavering over a deal. Mourinho’s words are said to have Benzema seriously considering the possibility of moving back to Europe.
In response, Al-Ittihad have already mentioned the possibility of extending the Frenchman’s contract, which currently runs until next summer.
Benzema, it is added, is really enjoying his time in Saudi Arabia, where he feels he is a reference point, and his plan is to stay until 2027. But a 2-0 defeat to Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr on Friday has amplified doubts in the mind of the 37-year-old about what he wants to do before his career is over.
Mourinho previously claimed: “The last thing on Karim’s mind is returning to European football.”
The manager’s words, though, have not damped rumours about the sensational return of Benzema, the 2022 Ballon d’Or winner, to European football.
A deal promises to be complicated, though. Benzema is on an enormous wage at Al-Ittihad that Benfica could not come close to matching, so if he were to reunite with Mourinho for one last great hurrah, he would have to make a significant sacrifice for it to happen.
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