Mourinho angered on day one: Real Madrid offered €150M for Alvarez without consulting him

José Mourinho did not wait for his first training session to find himself at odds with Real Madrid. According to Mundo Deportivo, the 63-year-old Portuguese manager reportedly discovered via the club’s X account that the Merengue board had submitted a €150 million offer to Atlético Madrid for the transfer of Julian Alvarez — without informing him beforehand.

Real Madrid had made this approach official Wednesday evening, just hours after Mourinho’s appointment was confirmed. Atlético rejected the offer without delay. The 26-year-old Argentine striker remains for now under contract with the Colchoneros.

Two versions clash over the circumstances of this sequence. From the Madrid club’s side, several sources claim that Mourinho had indeed been informed of this move, even if he had been reluctant about the idea of signing the Argentine international. The “Special One’s” entourage firmly contradicts this version: the coach would have learned of the offer only at the moment of the official announcement’s publication, like any outside observer.

This divergence in accounts, if confirmed, illustrates a worrying breakdown in communication between a newly appointed manager and a board accustomed to steering its transfer market autonomously. Mourinho, renowned for his need for control over squad building, reportedly took it badly to be kept out of such a structural decision.

The relationship between the Portuguese manager and Real Madrid had already experienced turbulence during his first spell on the Santiago Bernabéu bench (2010-2013). This new chapter thus opens on a note of mutual mistrust, before even the first ball of summer preparation has been kicked.