"My opinion is that it's the wrong move, but my opinion also is that it will happen," Graham Hunter noted somewhat despondently when contemplating the grim inevitability of a Real Madrid return for Jose Mourinho.
Departing Manchester United in disappointing circumstances in late 2018, the Portuguese may nevertheless be seen as Real Madrid's ideal replacement for Zinedine Zidane; albeit at the cost of Julen Lopetegui, Santiago Solari and their unsuitable stints in charge.
"There is a very, very, very high chance that Mourinho has one disciple, and that's Florentino Perez," explained Hunter.
Although Tottenham Hotspur's Mauricio Pochettino has been touted as a Real Madrid manager in waiting, the immense difficulty of leveraging the Argentine away from North London and Daniel Levy may leave Real in need of a readily available option.
Enter Jose Mourinho.
"I genuinely believe Jose Mourinho is the wrong man," Hunter stressed, "but I don't think they're going to get Pochettino."
"When Mourinho left, he left in ignominy having lost the title to Barcelona, having lost in the Cup final on the last day of his reign in the Bernabéu against Atletico Madrid.
"But, Florentino Perez considered Mourinho to have been a partial success. He only one won league title in his side but it was pretty glorious.
"There is an instinct in Perez that doesn't only want to see Real Madrid winning, he wants to see Barcelona humbled and for the world to stop loving them."
During his three-year spell in charge of Real Madrid, Jose Mourinho found himself in the invidious position of coming up against Pep Guardiola's Barcelona.
Although the Catalan side can be said to have had the better of Real during the Portuguese's tenure, Mourinho did lead the club to La Liga success in his second season at the club.
Furthermore, as the hierarchy at Real once again look to disrupt a Barcelona side going for their fourth league title in five seasons, Hunter believes Florentino Perez may turn to Jose Mourinho with memories of how successful the former Chelsea boss was in disturbing Guardiola's sense of well-being less than a decade ago.
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