Special gone! Mourinho will leave Real Madrid at the end of the season as he turns his back on £17m compensation.

              

Jose Mourinho will leave Real Madrid at the end of the season, with a sensational return to Chelsea - where he won back-to-back Premier League titles - drawing near.

Mourinho has agreed to rescind his contract with the club after finishing a poor season by his and Madrid's standards - a campaign he called the worst of his career.

Madrid's directors called an emergency meeting to discuss the future of the club's managerial helm followed by a press conference to announce Mourinho's departure.


                 


             

Frank Sinatra's 'My Way' was being played on the stream of the press conference on Real Madrid's website before Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez addressed the room.

He said: 'The club and the manager agree that the timing is right to bring our relationship to an end.

'On behalf of the directors, I would like to thank Jose Mourinho for his hard work over the last three years. We've come to this decision just now although it's something that's been in the back of our minds for some time. We have no pre-contracts signed with any manager. It's something we have to look at in the next couple of days.

We're not happy about it but we all agree that the timing is right, and I'd like to thank him for his work.'

Perez also declared that Mourinho would not receive any compensation for leaving the club, therefore forgoing the £17 million clause in the coach's contract in the event he was sacked.

The Real president also revealed he would be seeking re-election in his positions, for which elections open on June 3. Perez is the man who brought back the 'galacticos' era to the club.

Despite Perez's assertions, the Spanish giants are now rumoured to be lining up a move for Paris St Germain boss Carlo Ancelotti, who wants to leave the Ligue 1 champions.

                    

Ancelotti has confirmed he is seeking to leave PSG and replace Mourinho. The Italian - another former Chelsea manager, said: 'Real is a possibility but I have a year left on my contract. It is the club who will decide.

'We have to decide together. My decision is to leave the club. It is not easy because I have had a very good relationship with everyone. It is not the time to explain the reason why I wish to leave the club, and perhaps I will never explain it.'

                

It would see the Italian boss again follow in Mourinho's footsteps after he took the Stamford Bridge hotseat two years after Mourinho left.

               

The Portuguese has always described Chelsea as a team that has a special place in his heart, a view reciprocated by the club's supporters, who frequently chant songs and display banners supporting their former manager.

Stat attack: Mourinho has the best win percentage in Premier League history

The 50-year-old Portuguese has helped Madrid claim three trophies during his three years at the Bernabeu, winning the Primera Division, Copa del Rey and Spanish Supercopa.

However, they failed to defend their league title this season, surrendering it to arch rivals Barcelona, and suffered further disappointment with their cup final defeat to Atletico - their first loss to their neighbours in 14 years.

               

During Mourinho's tenure, Madrid also suffered three successive semi-final exits in the Champions League - a competition the club have been desperate to win since their ninth and last triumph in 2002.

As well as Madrid's lack of silverware this season, there have also been reports of dressing room unrest under Mourinho while home fans also appear to have turned on the Portuguese.

Sidelines: Mourinho riled supporters by falling out with goalkeeping legend Iker Casillas

Supporters have been upset by Mourinho's treatment of long-serving goalkeeper Iker Casillas, who was dropped before Christmas and has been unable to win back his spot with Antonio Adan and now Diego Lopez preferred in his stead.

Madrid, who are guaranteed to finish runners-up in La Liga, have two games left this season, away to Real Sociedad this weekend and then at home to Osasuna on the final day.

Mourinho's departure to Chelsea could also see one of Madrid's other big names follow him to Stamford Bridge.

Cristiano Ronaldo - also sent off in the cup final - is being lined up for a return to the Premier League and reunite with his compatriot, whom he shares an agent with.

               

Frank Lampard, who played for Chelsea under both Mourinho and Ancelotti, is just one of the Blues stars that would welcome Mourinho's return.

He told talkSPORT: 'It's a presence and an aura and a way with people. He galvanises people. His own self-confidence reflects back on his teams. He did that to me personally.

'Tactically he's fantastic. He's very astute. As a team he sets you up brilliantly.
                     
'But what he does is he gets the best out of players and gets this togetherness that I'd never known until he came to the club and I haven't seen it again since then.

'He might rub people up the wrong way. [But] as a manager, he's brilliant with his team, tactically, he's brilliant with individuals and I think he's brilliant with the press. I know it creates a storm, but he does protect his players.'

Put to him that a reunion will end in tears after the messy divorce six years ago, Lampard insisted he was sorry to see Mourinho leave first time round.

'I wasn't fed up with it," said Lampard, the club's record goalscorer who signed a one-year contract extension last week.

            

'He made me believe I was better than I was at the time. I thought I was a decent player, but he said to me 'listen, you can really get to the top' and he made me believe it. I tried to take it on and do it.

'I've had really good managers and different managers at times. It's the ones that get the best out of you, individually.

'We're all human beings and if a manager doesn't talk to you and tell you what they want or whether they're happy with you... we've all got confidence that is up and down.

'Mourinho was the best. For me he was. He brought my confidence to a level it had never been.'

Special One: Mourinho's complete managerial record, courtesy of Opta