Those in his inner circle described him as serene and composed in the hours leading up to the decisive fixtures, even as the speculation reached its loudest point. Mourinho himself had already set the terms: from Monday, his future would be open for discussion.
That moment has now arrived. Benfica ended their season without losing a league match across the entire campaign — the first time in the club's history — finishing third in the Primeira Liga behind champions Porto and Sporting CP. Despite the unbeaten record, a run of draws proved costly enough to deny them the title.
Mourinho acknowledged publicly that conversations between his agent Jorge Mendes and Real Madrid were real and ongoing, while maintaining the position that nothing had yet been agreed formally between him and the club's hierarchy.
"From Monday I will be able to speak about my future. It is true I have not spoken with Florentino Pérez or anyone from Real Madrid's structure. But I am not stupid. Between the club and Jorge, there are contacts, and I believe they will turn into contacts with me during the coming week."
He framed the decision not around money but around the nature of the job being offered.
"It depends on the offer, on what they expect from me. We are not talking about more or less euros, but about what they expect from me, whether I am in a condition to fulfil what they are proposing, the profile of work they have in mind."
Mourinho retains a release clause in his Benfica contract, understood to be worth around three million euros, which expires within days of the season's conclusion. Álvaro Arbeloa, who spoke warmly of Mourinho throughout his own interim tenure and called him the number one manager in the world, is expected to step down once an announcement is made.
Real Madrid have endured two consecutive trophy-less seasons and an increasingly fractured dressing room. Mourinho's previous stint from 2010 to 2013 brought one La Liga title, the Copa del Rey and a record points haul, as well as a period of intense internal turbulence that defined his departure.