Arsenal rocked as Mourinho asks Real Madrid to sign Arteta favourite

Updated: 9 Jun 2026 07:39 BST | 5 min read

Jose Mourinho Real Madrid Arsenal — © IMAGO

Matthew Judge | Editor

Incoming Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho wants the club to make an audacious move to sign Arsenal defender Riccardo Calafiori this summer, according to reports in Spain.

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The Portuguese is on the verge of replacing Alvaro Arbeloa as Los Blancos’ new head coach after Florentino Perez was re-elected club president until 2030 following Sunday’s elections.

BBC Sport understands Mourinho signed a three-year deal last month to return to Real - the club whom he managed between 2010 and 2013 - on the condition that Perez won the elections.

STATS

Riccardo Calafiori

D (L)

Arsenal

Riccardo Calafiori

D (L)

Arsenal

36

Games
1

Goals
3

Assists

Ahead of Mourinho’s arrival, speculation has been rife as to who the 63-year-old will target in his bid to make Real a force again next season, with the club having recorded back-to-back seasons without winning a trophy.

After Perez defeated renewable energy entrepreneur Enrique Riquelme in Real’s first presidential election to feature a challenger for 20 years, the club are set to sign France international Ibrahima Konate on a free transfer and Inter Milan right-back Denzel Dumfries in a €20million (£17.3m) deal.

And now according to Spanish publication Diario AS, Mourinho has reportedly told Perez of his wish to sign either Arsenal’s Calafiori or Manchester City’s Josko Gvardiol for the left-back berth in his Real XI.

Italy international Calafiori has become a trusted lieutenant of Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta since joining the club from Serie A side Bologna in 2024, making 65 appearances and scoring four goals.

Meanwhile Gvardiol, who has also been loosely linked with Real’s bitter rivals Barcelona, endured an injury-ravaged 2025-26 campaign with Man City, with the Croatian making just 25 appearances last season.

However, a separate report from BBC Sport claims City officials are feeling optimistic in their hopes of tying Gvardiol to a new contract, with the 24-year-old’s current deal set to expire in 2028.

Current ETV

Josko Gvardiol

D (CL)

Man City

Josko Gvardiol

D (CL)

Man City

ETV Range

€68.2M - €83.4M

The same publication also understands City are in advanced talks with Chelsea over appointing Enzo Maresca as their next head coach, with the Italian set to replace Pep Guardiola at the helm.

Maresca, who has been out of work since he was sacked by Chelsea in January, previously acted as Guardiola's assistant at City before becoming Leicester City manager in 2023, winning promotion to the Premier League in his first and only season at the club.

Gvardiol hoping to shine at World Cup as Calafiori misses out

Gvardiol is hoping to help Croatia embark on another dream run at the World Cup after being included in manager Zlatko Dalic’s 26-man squad. The Vatreni finished in third place at Qatar 2022, while they were also beaten finalists at Russia 2018.

Calafiori, on the other hand, will not feature at the World Cup after Italy failed to qualify for the third edition in a row following the penalty shootout loss to Bosnia and Herzegovina in April.

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