Real Madrid president Florentino Perez hailed Jose Mourinho as a part of the club’s history as he announced the coach’s imminent departure.
Perez confirmed at a press conference last night that Mourinho will leave the club at the end of this season, his third at the Bernabeu.
The controversial Portuguese, who led the club to league success last season with a record 100 points, has been strongly linked with a return to his former club Chelsea.
Perez said: “I want to inform you all that, after speaking to Jose Mourinho, we have decided to terminate his contract at the end of this season. We both agree that this is the right time. This club will always remember him he forms part of our history.
“Mourinho has spent more time at this club than any other coach has at the 20 clubs in the Primera Division, which shows it is not easy to last at a club for three years, especially at a club where there is as much pressure as this one.
“Each coach has his own personality, but you cannot doubt his competitive attitude. Has he made mistakes on the odd occasion? Of course, but the level of pressure at this club is not normal.
“On behalf of the board of directors, I would like to thank Jose Mourinho for the work he has done. We have taken an important step forward in a sporting and competitive sense under him, and we wish him luck in the future.”
Mourinho’s departure was agreed mutually by coach and club, and Perez also confirmed he will receive no compensation payment.
Mourinho will take charge of Real Madrid’s final matches of the season, away to Real Sociedad on May 26 and at home to Osasuna the following weekend.
“No one has been sacked, no one has quit, it was a mutual agreement,” Perez added.
Speculation will now surround Mourinho’s eventual destination, with the 50-year-old widely expected to succeed Stamford Bridge interim manager Rafael Benitez, and his replacement in Madrid.
Paris St Germain coach Carlo Ancelotti has been touted as the front-runner to become the new coach of Real.