Speculation is mounting in Madrid as to the identity of Real Madrid’s next manager. Valdano, set to become sporting director if Perez becomes president, has said he is looking at three potential candidates for the Madrid hot-seat.
It seems highly unlikely Arsene Wenger will be taking over at Madrid next season. Although he was the first choice candidate for Perez, Wenger looks set to be staying at the Emirates for another season. Admittedly, he did speak to representatives of Perez and considered their proposed package but the Arsenal boardroom must have sensed his unrest at their unwillingness to provide transfer funds, and consequently announced their fully backing for him, along with an increased transfer kitty. Upon hearing this, Wenger pledged his future to Arsenal.
Next on the list of candidates was Jose Mourinho. The Inter Milan manager briefly flirted with the idea of taking over at the Bernabeu next season, stating there was a “0.01% chance” he would not be managing Inter next season. To all effects, this was probably just a ploy to get an improved contract from Milan, and he has since signed a contract extension with the Italian champions, seemingly ruling him out.
Other potential candidates include Manuel Pellegrini and Michael Laudrup, but some people feel these are not high-profile enough for the job. But time is now running out....Perez and only one other candidate remain in the race for president, and if Eduardo Garcia (the other candidate) pulls out of the race (which seems likely since he has stated he is finding it difficult to raise the funds to become president), then Perez will be elected on June 1st without any elections being held. So Perez needs to have his coach in place before this happens. One option that is seriously being considered at the minute is to continue with Juande Ramos next season. Since taking over at the Bernabeu, Juande has done a remarkable job with the team, taking them to second place behind Barcelona when they were struggling to make a Champions League place last December. So, despite the last few defeats, Perez might look at the work Juande has done and, if no other viable options become available, continue with him as coach.
Whatever happens, it is certainly going to be an interesting few days ahead at Real Madrid.
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