Fifteen players want coach out

Up to 15 Real Madrid players, including five senior members of the squad, do not want Jose Mourinho to continue as manager next season, Spanish newspaper El Pais reported on Saturday.

The Portuguese has a contract with the Spanish champion until 2016, but has consistently been linked with a move away from the Santiago Bernabeu at the end of the season.

Mourinho admitted on Friday to saying he "didn't think he would be here next season" to the president of CD Canillas, a club in the north of Madrid where Mourinho's son plays in a youth team.

However, he claimed his relationship with President Florentino Perez was a good one and that they would decide his future together at the end of the season.

"My relationship with the president and Jose Angel Sanchez (the sporting director) is very good," he said.

"This allows us to sit down and analyze things calmly whatever happens in the games."

The report in El Pais claims though that an informal poll carried out by Perez among the squad found the majority would not be in favor of Mourinho staying on.

Moreover, the five senior players that were against his continuation as boss claimed they already had offers from other sides and would look for a move at the end of the season should there not be a change of coach.

The former Chelsea boss has had very public disagreements with Iker Casillas and Sergio Ramos this season, with Casillas currently being overlooked in favor of Diego Lopez in goal.

Meanwhile, Xabi Alonso is stalling on the offer of a new contract by the club with his current deal set to expire in 2014.

Agence France-Presse

(China Daily 04/22/2013 page23)