Jose Mourinho has personally asked Real Madrid president Florentino Perez to bring Arsenal defender Riccardo Calafiori to the Santiago Bernabeu this summer, according to Spanish outlet AS.
Mourinho Pushes Real Madrid to Sign Arsenal Defender Calafiori
The Portuguese coach stands on the verge of returning to the Madrid dugout, and he already shapes the club’s defensive plans for next season.
Madrid have finalised deals for Ibrahima Konate and Denzel Dumfries, but Mourinho wants further reinforcements at left-back.
Mourinho knows Calafiori well from their time together at Roma. The 24-year-old Italian spent most of that period on the bench under the 63-year-old, making only brief cameo appearances.
Yet Mourinho remembers the defender’s qualities and now believes he can fill a specific tactical role.
The manager explains that Madrid will have two attacking right-backs in Trent Alexander-Arnold and Dumfries. This imbalance pushes Mourinho to seek a more defensively solid option on the left flank.
He prefers someone who provides the right balance, and Calafiori fits that profile alongside Manchester City’s Josko Gvardiol.
Arsenal signed Calafiori from Bologna for £42 million in 2024. He has made 65 appearances for the Gunners and contributed nine goals.
However, an injury last December cost him his starting spot, and Piero Hincapie has since established himself as Mikel Arteta’s first-choice left-back.
Arsenal consider Calafiori a key player, but a huge premium fee could tempt them to sell. The club might accept around £65-70 million from Madrid.
Arteta already has Myles Lewis-Skelly as a deputy for Hincapie, and the Gunners also show genuine interest in Eintracht Frankfurt’s Nathaniel Brown.
Mourinho now waits to see if Perez will act on his request. The Italian defender could become the next piece in Madrid’s summer rebuild.
