Jose Mourinho will take over as Real Madrid boss should newly appointed manager Zinedine Zidane fail to turn the club around this season, former president Ramon Calderon has said.
The Bernabeu club sacked manager Rafa Benitez after seven months in charge and replaced him with France legend Zidane on Monday. Mourinho, who parted company with Chelsea in mid-December, won La Liga and Copa del Rey titles with Real in his first spell with the club. And Calderon told BBC Radio 5 live he is "sure" the Portuguese will coach the club in June if Zidane falters.
"I wish Zidane all the best but it will be difficult. If he is not successful then Jose Mourinho will be on the bench in June, I am sure," Calderon said on Monday. "It is a great opportunity for Zidane [but] he lacks experience as a coach. That is a problem."
Madrid president between 2006 and 2009, Calderon criticised current Real chief Florentino Perez for replacing Carlo Ancelotti with Benitez just a year after the Italian won the Champions League and Copa del Rey with the club.
"Florentino Perez is an engineer, he is not a professional," Calderon added.
"He decided to sack Carlo Ancelotti when everyone loved him. They changed Rafael Benitez but no-one is advising who is the right man to be there.
"Perez didn't say anything about the change. Why? That is the real story about this club."
The former Valencia, Liverpool and Napoli coach never won over a dressing room that included vocal supporters of Ancelotti.
Zidane spoke briefly during Monday's introductory news conference, promising to "give it all his heart to make the team successful." Calderon, however, is taking a wait-and-see approach.
"I think the players like Zidane. He won everything with Real Madrid. I am sure the fans will receive him in a very good way. What happens in the next weeks, nobody knows."