Mourinho tightens grip on Real

The season-long power struggle between José Mourinho and Real Madrid's general director, Jorge Valdano, came to an abrupt and rather surprising end on Wednesday evening when club president Florentino Pérez wielded the ax on his right-hand man to hand Mourinho virtual control of the structure of the institution, under the aegis of José Ángel Sánchez, executive director general of Real since 2006.

Valdano's dismissal represents a remarkable personal triumph for Mourinho, who intimated in January that his continuance at the helm of the team was heavily dependent on the removal of the Argentinean executive, who has served in a number of boardroom roles under Pérez and was both a player and coach with Real.

Valdano: "Florentino Pérez has clearly decided the winner of the fight"

Under pressure since January to hand Mourinho more autonomy, Pérez considered two possibilities: sacking Mourinho in the case of another trophy-less season, or backing the Portuguese to the hilt whatever the outcome of his first year in charge. The fans' support for Mourinho, reflected in several surveys carried out by the club, finally convinced the president, who Valdano said was incapable of organizing a meeting between the three men to find a solution.

After eliminating his trusted lieutenant from the equation following a board meeting, Pérez presented himself in the Bernabéu's conference room with his characteristic aseptic veneer and declared his decision was based on the "manifest disfunction" between Valdano and Mourinho. When pressed on the nature of the lack of understanding between his coach and general director, Pérez was unable to offer a concrete example. Nobody within the club could offer any further insight, largely because it is well-known that Valdano has been operating in a merely informative role, in the shadow of Pérez, since Mourinho's arrival. It did not help matters that Valdano was instrumental in bringing several players to the club, most notably Pedro León and Sergio Canales, who have failed to impress Mourinho.

Valdano, tieless and with a serious, tense and tired countenance, appeared in the conference room 10 minutes after Pérez. His take on the rift was as subtle as his entire dialogue: "There has never been a confrontation to justify the difference of opinion marked by the coach. I have been following the situation more through the media than through our personal relationship. I don't believe there has been sufficient motive to generate an abyss between us both. It has to do with a difference of feeling on many matters, the idea of soccer, the idea of the club, and sooner or later this was going to show itself. I can't put my finger on tangible things that help me think that there was a before and an after to this situation."

"I believe in dialogue," Valdano continued. "I asked the president to arrange a meeting but it was not possible. I have never converted Real Madrid into a battleground. I put my position as director general before who I am, and I have always avoided fighting that battle. I felt obliged by a sense of institutional duty. I tried to avoid the perception that there had been a battle because it was not good for the club. I have great love for this club and all my efforts were aimed at living up to its greatness. If that was perceived as a confrontation, Florentino Pérez has clearly decided the winner of the fight."

Pérez, though, was quick to pour cold water on the notion that Mourinho had asked for Valdano's head on a silver platter. "Mourinho made no demands," the president said. "He asked for more sporting autonomy, similar to how English clubs are organized. If in the future, when Mourinho is not here, we contract another powerful coach, we will continue to function like this. If not, we will have to adapt our organizational structure to the personnel we have. With a coach as strong as Mourinho it was necessary to adopt an organization in line with the way English clubs operate."