Right, we have done a good few of these videos looking at a managers first or last 7 signings at a particular club, so if there are any others you’d like to see feel free to let us know in the comments. One club we haven’t yet looked at in this series is Real Madrid, which seems to be a bit of an oversight on my part.
Jose Mourinho spent three years at Real Madrid, where he won one league title but no Champions League’s, although that’s not bad going when you remember the Barcelona team that he was up against on both of those fronts.
Here are Jose Mourinho’s last 7 Real Madrid signings: Where are they now?
7. Diego Lopez – Espanyol
Signed by Real Madrid twice, the first time was in the year 2000 by Vicente del Bosque, but he made just 11 appearances before being sold to Villarreal 12 years later. Lopez was signed by Real Madrid for the second time in January 2013 as Jose Mourinho’s final signing, immediately becoming the club’s number one. Capped once by Spain in 2009, the well-rounded shot stopper retained the number one shirt under Carlo Ancelotti the following season, but he was sold to AC Milan in the summer of 2014 following Iker Casillas’ return to fitness. Now aged 36, Lopez has been with La Liga outfit Espanyol since 2017.
6. Luka Modric – Real Madrid
Luka Modric of Real Madrid during the La Liga Santander match between Real Madrid v Levante at the Santiago Bernabeu on October 20, 2018 in Madrid Spain
The second to last signing of Jose Mourinho’s tenure at Real Madrid has proved to be rather a stroke of genius, it has to be said. Los Blancos had quite a drawn out transfer saga between themselves and Daniel Levy before finally landing their man, with the Croatian arriving at the Bernabeu for a fee of £30 million. They’d get more than that for him now, and he’s 33, so that’s a mark of how well Modric has done in the Spanish capital.
It wasn’t always so though. In his first season with the club, and his only under Mourinho, Modric was widely criticised by the Spanish press. Carlo Ancelotti moved him from attacking midfield into a deeper role, however, and since then there has been no looking back. Modric is now one of the two best midfielders in the world.
5. Nuri Sahin – Werder Bremen
A technically excellent central midfield player with an exquisite range of passing, Nuri Sahin was highly impressive as a youngster at Borussia Dortmund. He left the club in 2011, aged 23, to sign for Real Madrid, citing Mourinho as a major factor behind his decision to join Real. Sahin had a miserable time in Madrid though, plagued by injuries and making only 10 appearances in three years contracted to the club. He returned to Dortmund in 2014, but his extraordinary injury troubles have persisted, and aged 30, we can only hope that he is finally due a slice of luck with his new club Werder Bremen.
4. Hamit Altintop – Free Agent
Aus 1. BL Saison 2016
There are two German-born Turkish internationals in quick succession in this seven, as fourth place is Hamit Altintop. Another central midfielder, Mourinho signed Altintop from Bayern Munich on a free transfer. A hard working and technically gifted footballer, Hamit is perhaps best known for winning the 2010 Puskas Award, back when you had to score a really good goal to win that award. Ah, those were the days… Anyhow, he too played barely any football for Real, and at the age of 34, he’s currently a free agent, most recently having turned out for Darmstadt in the German second tier.
3. Jose Callejon – Napoli
Much like Diego Lopez, it was a case of Real Madrid buying back a former player when Jose Mourinho brought Jose Callejon to the Bernabeu from Espanyol in 2011. A hard working, direct and most of all very quick wide man, Callejon made a bit more of an impact at the club, racking up 77 appearances in two seasons. He left for Napoli just after Jose Mourinho’s departure, and now aged 31, he is still with the Serie A title hopefuls, where he has scored 74 goals in 258 games.
2. Raphael Varane – Real Madrid
Goalkeeper of France Hugo Lloris, Raphael Varane celebrate the victory following the UEFA Nations League A group one match between France and Germany at Stade de France on October 16, 2018…
Highly-rated from a young age, Raphael Varane broke into the Lens starting XI at the age of 17. Real Madrid acted quickly, bringing him to the Bernabeu immediately after his breakout campaign for somewhere in the region of 10 million euros. That has proved to be exceptional value. Varane was on the fringes for a good while at Real, and a couple of years ago Mourinho was linked with signing the defender – who he is known to rate very highly. Since Pepe’s departure from Real though, Varane has become a mainstay in their starting XI, one of the most accomplished centre-back’s in world football and he has won a World Cup. The Frenchman is still only 25, and he could be a key man in Madrid for the next 10 years.
1. Fabio Coentrao – Rio Ave
Another player who excelled as a youngster, Fabio Coentrao broke into the Rio Ave first team at the age of 16, being named as the Breakthrough Player of the Year in both Portugal’s second and first tiers. Often played on the left wing rather than at left-back early in his career, Coentrao was always going to have a tough time displacing Marcelo in Madrid, but he did rack up more than 100 appearances during seven years contracted to the club. The Portuguese international has become more and more injury prone as the years go by, however, and following brief stints with Monaco and Sporting, he returned to Rio Ave in August 2018.
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