Real Madrid announced Mourinho's appointment, stealing the spotlight from the World Cup's opening ceremony.

Written by Han Bing. Newly re-elected Real Madrid president Florentino Perez was flatly rejected by Atletico Madrid in his attempt to fulfill his campaign promise of making an offer for Alvarez. However, he has always been skilled at leveraging media and public opinion to maximize Real Madrid's media impact. Spanish media widely believed that Mourinho's appointment was only a matter of time, but Florentino deliberately chose to announce it just before the World Cup opener, challenging the unquestionable global headline of the World Cup's opening day.

As early as June 7, when Florentino successfully won re-election as president, Mourinho's return to Real Madrid was already a fact. However, the timing of the announcement revealed the president's ambition to continue building the "world's top club" brand IP. The pre-World Cup announcement of Mourinho's appointment overshadowed the embarrassment of Real Madrid's €150 million bid for Alvarez being ruthlessly rejected by Atletico just days earlier. At the same time, it temporarily brought Real Madrid back to the center of world football.

The announcement of Mourinho's return is only one part of Florentino's strategic plan to restore Real Madrid's "top club" image. One day before the World Cup opener, Real Madrid announced contract renewals with three major sponsors: Adidas, Emirates, and HP. The average annual total revenue from these three sponsors is up to €300 million. Meanwhile, no other club globally can achieve an annual top sponsorship revenue of €220 million.

Real Madrid once again proved that its commercial value remains the best in the world. Equipment sponsor Adidas pays an annual fee of €120 million (renewed until 2034), front-of-shirt sponsor Emirates increased from €70 million to €100 million (renewed until 2031), and the first sleeve sponsor in Real Madrid's 124-year history, HP, pays €80 million annually. The second-highest kit sponsorship annual fee belongs to Manchester City at €220 million, followed by Barcelona (€200 million) and Paris Saint-Germain (€190 million), all far behind Real Madrid.

Off the pitch, Florentino wants to prove that Real Madrid is still the world's top club, while bringing back Mourinho is to make Real Madrid "great again" on the pitch. In addition to the €15 million buyout clause, a career record for Mourinho, Florentino has prepared three new signings for the "Special One." Apart from the already confirmed Konaté and Dumfries, the third target is Bernardo Silva, whose interest was only revealed on the day of the World Cup opener. Originally, Barcelona and Atletico were both keen on Silva, with Barcelona especially determined. Unexpectedly, Real Madrid turned the tables in just 36 hours, snatching Silva and dealing a blow to both rivals. It also somewhat restored the "face" lost after Atletico's mockingly rejected bid for Alvarez.

A key condition for Mourinho's return to Real Madrid was having absolute say in the first team. He had previously demanded the signing of four midfield and defensive players to bolster the backline, including a left-back, a right-back, a center-back, and a versatile midfielder. Konaté and Dumfries are already in place. Real Madrid's successful hijack of Silva was because both the player and Mourinho are clients of super agent Jorge Mendes, and Silva also has a good personal relationship with Mourinho. After Mourinho personally invited him, Silva immediately stopped negotiations with Barcelona and Atletico, highlighting Mourinho's influence.

Mourinho, returning to Real Madrid, is expected to officially take up his role on July 13. However, there are still some differences between him and Florentino. The president insists on the "superstar strategy," while Mourinho was not informed of and did not want to sign Argentine striker Alvarez. Given Atletico's insistence, the world-class superstar promised by the president this summer is likely someone else, who will also meet Mourinho's approval.

However, the transfer targets rumored by Spanish media—Vitinha, João Neves (PSG), and Rodri (Manchester City)—have all been turned down. With Endrick returning, the buyback of Nico Paz in progress, and Rodrygo's rapid recovery from injury, Mourinho's need for new attacking signings is not pressing. Besides the three confirmed new signings, Mourinho also demands the addition of one center-back and one midfielder. Similar to Vitinha and João Neves, West Ham's Portuguese midfielder Matheus Fernandes and Manchester City's center-back Rúben Dias are the latest transfer rumors for Real Madrid, both also being Mendes' clients.

What is about to restart at Real Madrid is not just the Mourinho era, but also perhaps the return of the Mendes era at the Bernabéu.