ZZ DROP Real Madrid are in crisis and Zidane is on the brink… now Mourinho is laying the groundwork to make a sensational return

JOSE Mourinho is awaiting the call to make a triumphant return to Real Madrid.

Posted Friday, September 20, 2019 by Thesun.co.uk

Wednesday’s humiliating 3-0 Champions League defeat at PSG left under-pressure Zinedine Zidane on the brink just six months after beginning his second spell at the Bernabeu helm.

ZZ DROP Real Madrid are in crisis and Zidane is on the brink… now Mourinho is laying the groundwork to make a sensational return
Mourinho is out of work after leaving Man Utd Credit: EPA

ZZ DROP Real Madrid are in crisis and Zidane is on the brink… now Mourinho is laying the groundwork to make a sensational return
Zidane is under pressure after two wins from five this season Credit: EPA

And if Zidane is axed, Real president Florentino Perez is ready to turn back to the man he let go following a dressing room uprising in 2013.

Perez has long made it clear that he regrets his decision to allow Mourinho to leave after three seasons in which his battles with Barcelona turned La Liga into a war-ground.

But the Real chief has retained relationships with Mourinho and his entourage and is believed to feel the Portuguese is the only man who can get the club back on an even keel.

Mourinho believed he was on course to get the job last season, when Santiago Solari was sacked in the aftermath of the Champions League filleting by Ajax.

Perez, though, was persuaded to go back to Zidane - who won the Champions League in all three campaigns he led between 2016 and 2018 - by an internal campaign led by Sergio Ramos.

Ramos was one of the key dressing room figures who turned against Mourinho during his final term at the Bernabeu, alongside Iker Casillas, Cristiano Ronaldo and Pepe.

ZZ DROP Real Madrid are in crisis and Zidane is on the brink… now Mourinho is laying the groundwork to make a sensational return
Mourinho won a La Liga and Copa del Rey title in Madrid Credit: Getty Images - Getty

ZZ DROP Real Madrid are in crisis and Zidane is on the brink… now Mourinho is laying the groundwork to make a sensational return
Los Blancos were put to the sword by ex-star Di Maria and PSG on Wednesday night Credit: Getty - Contributor

The Spain central defender, though, is the only one left at the club, and his absence in Paris - the consequence of the extra game ban he picked up for boasting about a deliberate yellow card in the first leg versus Ajax last term - ensured he took some of the flak for a defeat of which he was not a part of.

Zidane’s side were schooled by a PSG team without any of their feared front three, with Neymar suspended and Kylian Mbappe and Edinson Cavani injured.

But a double by former Real winger Angel Di Maria and a late third when PSG’s full-backs Juan Bernat and Thomas Meunier sliced through the Real rearguard before the Belgian stroked home plunged Zidane into total crisis with the performance described as a “total collapse” by the Madrid media.

Zidane has had a nightmare few months, starting when he failed to get rid of Gareth Bale and was forced to make a humiliating U-turn after saying the Welshman had no future at the club and also ended up keeping James Rodriguez.

His attempts to land Paul Pogba also bit the dust, with Madrid fans critical of his decisions to sell local favourite Marcos Llorente to rivals Atletico and loan Dani Ceballos to Arsenal.

And his big-name - and big-budget - summer recruits are struggling.

Eden Hazard was hauled off in Paris, defenders Eder and Ferland Mendy have hardly played through injury while Zidane appears to have written off Serbian striker Luka Jovic.

Canny Jose has been laying the foundations for his Bernabeu homecoming by paying public tribute to the club.

Just last week, he told Portuguese TV: "Real Madrid was my best experience because of what I learned as a coach, as a man, from the lessons I took in my career and in my life.

"It's the best memory of my career, it was fantastic.”

The “Special One” has not hidden his desire to get back into management, despite his engagement by Sky Sports as a Premier League pundit.

And with Zidane seemingly running out of ideas and faith, one more defeat could see the former Chelsea and Inter boss back in the Real dugout.