• La Liga

Real confirm Mourinho will leave club

Real Madrid have confirmed that Jose Mourinho will leave the club at the end of the current campaign.

Speaking at a press conference on Monday, Real president Florentino Perez confirmed that club and manager had agreed that the time had come for a parting of ways.

Mourinho has been heavily linked with a summer return to Premier League club Chelsea in recent months.

"The time is right to bring our relationship to an end," Perez said. "Nobody has been sacked, it is a mutual agreement."

Mourinho has won a trophy in each of his three seasons at the Bernabeu, claiming the Copa del Rey in 2011, the Primera Division title last May and the Spanish Supercopa at the start of the current campaign.

However, failure to deliver the club's elusive tenth European Cup, coupled with defeat to city rivals Atletico in last Friday's Copa del Rey final meant the writing was on the wall for the Portuguese boss.

Perez announced the news at a packed press conference at the Bernabeu, insisting that the decision for Mourinho to leave was a mutual one.

"The club and the manager agree that the timing is right to bring our relationship to an end,'' Perez said. "On behalf of the directors, I would like to thank Jose Mourinho for his hard work over the last three years.

"Today is a sad day. We have reached an agreement with our coach and we wish him the best of luck. We don't think our achievements of this year have been sufficient for a demanding club like Real Madrid or coach like Mourinho."

Mourinho is now widely expected to return to his former club Chelsea in the summer, with Paris Saint-Germain boss Carlo Ancelotti favourite to replace him at Madrid.

PSG chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi has claimed that Real have already made contact with Ancelotti, but Perez denied that they have come to any agreement with a new coach and insisted that the search for Mourinho's successor would begin in the coming days.

Mourinho's final matches for Real Madrid will be La Liga clashes away to Real Sociedad on May 26 and at home to Osasuna on June 2, after which he will depart the club.

Perez also announced that Real Madrid's presidential election will take place the day after Mourinho leaves the club, on Monday June 3.

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