'Ticking time bomb' — Real Madrid current players give opinion on Mourinho's return

The Real Madrid dressing room are reportedly vehemently opposing president Florentino Pérez’s  push to rehire José Mourinho, with senior players said to have labelled the 63-year-old tactician a "ticking time bomb." 

As Pulse Sports reported, Pérez is determined to bring the Portuguese manager back to the Santiago Bernabéu to replace the outgoing Álvaro Arbeloa, calculating that Mourinho's massive profile will serve as the ultimate distraction to help the fanbase forget a disastrous run of consecutive unsuccessful campaigns. 

However, this unilateral pursuit faces intense internal resistance. Both the squad, according to the explosive report from Cadena SER journalist Gastón Álvarez, and several prominent boardroom executives have explicitly voiced their preference for former Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp, viewing the German as a far more stabilising and universally appealing figure. 

The report of the squad's rejection of Mourinho comes just days after marquee forward Kylian Mbappé actively fuelled the rumours by publicly liking a social media post endorsing the Portuguese manager's return.

The players' alleged profound apprehension cannot be totally divorced from Mourinho’s highly divisive history and his recent, controversial off-pitch remark about Vinicius. 

Tensions are already incredibly high regarding the current Benfica manager following his well-criticised comments directed at the Brazil international during the racism row involving Gianluca Prestianni. 

Furthermore, the club's hierarchy is acutely aware of the toxic legacy of Mourinho's initial 2010–2013 tenure in the Spanish capital. 

Although he successfully broke Barcelona's domestic dominance by securing the 2011/12 La Liga title with a record 100 points, alongside the 2010/11 Copa del Rey,  his reign ended in a dressing-room civil war that alienated club legends like Iker Casillas.