Since that departure, both the manager and the club have navigated turbulent paths in European competition. While Mourinho went on to secure the Europa League with Manchester United in 2017 and the Conference League with Roma in 2022, he has largely operated outside the Champions League elite. Inter, meanwhile, have endured heartbreak on the biggest stage, suffering final defeats against Manchester City in 2023 and Paris Saint-Germain in 2025.
Restoring European Ambition at the Bernabeu
Real Madrid president Florentino Perez brought Mourinho back to the Spanish capital this summer following two seasons without a major trophy for the club. Despite the recent success of predecessors like Carlo Ancelotti and Zinedine Zidane, who collectively steered the club through a dominant decade in Europe, Madrid’s recent continental form has dipped. The club suffered a quarter-final exit to Arsenal in 2025 and a last-16 elimination at the hands of Bayern Munich last season.
Mourinho remains pragmatic about his legacy and the task ahead. While Perez has credited the Portuguese manager with laying the structural foundations for the club's subsequent European triumphs, Mourinho insists the credit for those later titles belongs to the players and his successors. His current objective is clear: to challenge the dominance of Luis Enrique’s PSG, who are currently chasing a third consecutive European title.
Early Pressure on the New Regime
The start of Mourinho’s second tenure has been a mixture of promise and reality. The team opened their domestic campaign with three consecutive victories, but that momentum was checked on Friday with a 1-0 defeat away to Real Betis. Mourinho, who stated in August that any season at Real Madrid without silverware is a failure, now faces an immediate test of his side's resilience.
The upcoming match against Inter Milan serves as a litmus test for Madrid's European aspirations. As the club looks to reclaim their status among the continent's elite, the fixture provides a symbolic backdrop for a manager looking to prove that both he and his club can once again conquer the competition that defined his greatest career achievement.
