DERMOT CORRIGAN: Alvarez comments force Mourinho on the defensive

You might think that Barcelona and Real Madrid’s Champions League semi-final first legs — with Barca at Bayern Munich tomorrow, and Madrid facing Borussia Dortmund away the following evening — were enough for both clubs to focus on for the moment.

But the last week has seen top figures at La Liga’s big two look far beyond even May 25’s competition final at Wembley.

Wednesday brought a ‘revelation’ that Madrid boss Jose Mourinho had already decided to leave the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu. The apparent bombshell came from Manuel Alvarez, president of Canillas, the local youth club where Mourinho’s son plays. He told Spanish radio station COPE that, while giving a seminar to a group of local youth coaches, the Special One had let slip he would be working elsewhere next year.

This was pounced upon as ‘proof’ that Mourinho had already agreed a return to former club Chelsea, or was maybe moving to PSG. The storm of speculation was such that Mourinho himself made a rare press conference appearance on Friday to try and quell it.

“Canillas’ president loves the media,” the Portuguese said. “He is a fantastic person, treats me and my son very well, but he has this little problem.”

Mourinho again claimed he would decide his future after discussing things with Madrid president Florentino Perez at this season’s end.

“My relationship with the president is very good,” he said. “So we can sit down, analyse things calmly and decide what is the best for Madrid, for me, for the president.”

However, it now seems that decision may have already been taken. El Pais claimed on Saturday that an increasingly fed-up Perez had surveyed the Madrid squad and found 15 players would prefer a new boss, presumably including club captain and current substitute goalkeeper Iker Casillas. The story said the president has already started planning for next season, and suggested Tottenham winger Gareth Bale was more likely to be at the Bernabeu than Mourinho come September.

Meanwhile, in Catalonia, Barcelona president Sandro Rosell announced that he would run for re-election in 2016. This intention was no surprise, but making the announcement three years out was unexpected.

Rosell’s popularity among Barca’s members (socios) is uncertain, amid a continuing civil war with his predecessor Joan Laporta. Thursday’s statement included praise for the current board’s achievement in cutting the club’s debt from €431 million to €298 million in three years, and looked forward to future “challenges” including building a new Camp Nou stadium. More controversial issues such as the rekindling of Barca’s relationship with its Boixos Nois ultras were left unmentioned.

The European draw against Bayern again brought former Barca and future Munich coach Josep Guardiola into the spotlight, something which seems uncomfortable for Rosell, given the continuing closeness between Pep and Laporta. Club spokesperson Toni Freixa this week made a clumsy claim current coach Tito Vilanova (a Rosell appointment) had already surpassed Guardiola.

“At his presentation [Tito] said he would lose out in every comparison [with Pep],” Freixa told Onda Cero. “I believe he is winning them all, including on the human side.”

This looked a further sign of the tension behind the scenes, but most Barca fans will have been more worried about whether Lionel Messi’s thigh injury was healing in time for tomorrow’s game.