Jose Mourinho signs Real Madrid contract - could this be the end for Marco Silva at Fulham?

Jose Mourinho has signed his three-year deal with Real Madrid that will see him return to the Spanish capital upon the conclusion of the club’s ongoing elections.

Florentino Perez called an election and for the first time since 2000, he is actually challenged, with Enrique Riquelme putting his name into the ring.

Riquelme has said this week that if he wins the election, he will not appoint Mourinho, citing Jurgen Klopp as the sort of manager he would like to take over.

Real Madrid had a disastrous two years by their standards, failing to win a trophy in either season, and they have now been managed by Carlo Ancelotti, Xabi Alonso and Alvaro Arbeloa in that period.

Periods of in-fighting, which saw Fede Valverde have to be hospitalised after getting into a fight with Aurelien Tchouameni in training, as well as several other incidents of a similar nature, have led Perez to believe the only man who can solve the issues at the Bernabeu is Mourinho.

The 63-year-old has just managed Benfica to an unbeaten season in the Portuguese league, though finishing third behind Porto and Sporting Lisbon.

But with him set to leave, assuming Perez wins the election, then Benfica will of course be on the lookout for a replacement, and that looks set to be Marco Silva.

There have been reports suggesting that the 48-year-old may reject the Benfica proposal due to their initial offer, which is thought to be around half of what Fulham have offered Silva.

The Cottagers have put an offer on the table, which would make Silva the third-highest paid Premier League manager, with a three-year contract of £8 million a year offered to Silva.

On top of that, he was also offered significantly more say in the transfer market, which was reportedly a point of contention during the season that has just gone.

But there is a growing feeling that Silva has taken things as far as he can with Fulham and after five years at Craven Cottage, he is looking for a move elsewhere.

He was initially on the Chelsea shortlist, before the Blues moved fast to appoint Xabi Alonso, and it is thought that Silva wants to return to his homeland after a decade in England with Fulham, Everton, Hull and Watford.

Benfica will believe they can update their offer to secure Silva’s services and the long-running saga will be complete, with Fulham needing to look out for a new boss.

Mourinho signing with Madrid, may have the butterfly effect that Fulham fans have been dreading - Marco Silva’s time at Fulham may well be over.