London, England – In a move that has been widely expected for months, Jose Mourinho was confirmed as manager of Chelsea on Monday, more than five years after his first stint in charge came to an end.
Mourinho spent the past three seasons at Real Madrid, but he leaves the club after a season that saw Madrid fail to capture a major trophy.
The 50-year-old was released from his contract by Madrid, meaning that Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich will not have to pay compensation.
"I am delighted to welcome Jose back to Chelsea. His continued success, drive and ambition made him the outstanding candidate," Chelsea chief executive Ron Gourlay said. "It is our aim to keep the club moving forward to achieve greater success in the future, and Jose is our No. 1 choice as we believe he is the right manager to do just that."
In his first stint at Chelsea, Mourinho guided the Blues to their first league title in 50 years in 2005, and followed it up with another in 2006.
The "Special One" also helped Chelsea win the FA Cup and two League Cups, but he failed to deliver a Champions League title, which the club finally won in 2012 under Roberto Di Matteo.
Chelsea finished last season in third place and was bounced from the Champions League in the group stage.
Di Matteo was fired in November as Chelsea boss, and Rafa Benitez took over on an interim basis and helped the team win the Europa League.
Benitez was hired by Napoli last week, paving the way for Mourinho to pen a four-year contract to return to Stamford Bridge just two days after Madrid's season came to a close.
According to Chelsea, Mourinho will hold a news conference at Stamford Bridge on June 10.
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