Mourinho saved by Clasico, Carrick retained: Deschamps loses two leads in a week

Didier Deschamps finds himself without a bench on the horizon after two prestigious leads closed within days of each other. The 58-year-old coach, free since the end of his fourteen-year tenure at the head of the French national team — which he will leave after the 2026 World Cup to make way for Zinedine Zidane — is actively seeking a new project.

On the Real Madrid side, the Spanish press had placed the former captain of the Blues at the top of Florentino Pérez’s list in case of a split with José Mourinho. Last Sunday’s Clasico was presented as a decisive test for the “Special One”: a defeat at Camp Nou could have hastened his departure. Mourinho averted the danger by winning in Barcelona (1-2), a success that reignites the Merengue in the title race and gives him enough breathing room for the Deschamps rumour to die down on its own.

The Manchester lead fared no better. Manchester United is going through a deep crisis: eight matches without a win across all competitions, 16th place in the Premier League and two recent heavy defeats — 4-1 against Como in the Ligue des Champions, 3-0 at Bournemouth in the league. Despite this alarming record and reported internal tensions, the Old Trafford board chose to retain Michael Carrick for the trip to Chelsea this Saturday, thus closing the door to any outside arrival in the short term.

Deschamps, who had indicated being open to offers, will therefore have to wait longer before finding his next challenge on a bench.