Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Jose Mourinho's Benfica sit second in Liga Portugal
BBC Sport ColumnistPublished7 minutes ago5 CommentsByJosh LobleyBBC SportWith Real Madrid out of the Champions League, and now sat closer to third place Villarreal than La Liga leaders Barcelona, noise around manager Alvaro Arbeloa's future is unsurprisingly increasing.
Arbeloa took over after Xabi Alonso departed in January, but has performed worse than his predecessor, particulaly in La Liga.
Alonso left the Bernebeu with an impressive win ratio of 74%. Arbeloa has managed five games fewer than Alonso did in the league but has already lost more with his win percentage down at 64%.
A shock defeat by second-tier side Albacete in the Copa del Rey has not helped Arbeloa's case either - although it was just two days after he took charge.
One of the names being mentioned as a potential replacement, if Arbeloa is sacked, is Real's former boss Jose Mourinho, who is currently manager of Benfica in Portugal.
The Portuguese was in charge at the Bernabeu between 2010 and 2013, winning La Liga, the Copa del Rey and the Spanish Super Cup.
Spanish football expert Guillem Balague tells BBC Sport why Mourinho is liked by Real president Florentino Perez but believes he is an unlikely option for now.
Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Mourinho's Real won 100 points in 2011-12 , the joint-highest tally ever in the Spanish top flight
Arbeloa has got a year left in his contract but it is clear that chairman Perez is looking elsewhere for a new boss.
Even though Perez appreciates the positives of Arbeloa's tenure, results dictate decisions at the Bernabeu.
But to understand who they will hire, you first need to understand how Perez thinks.
Perez does not care about style of play. He does not lose sleep over tactical identity or whether his team presses high or sits deep. What he cares about is winning, and more than that, managing.
There is a recurring tension at the Bernabeu between two schools of thought. On one side, the number two at the club Jose Angel Sanchez argues that Real need an organiser, a tactically rigorous coach who can impose order on a talented but chaotic squad.
That line of thinking has produced appointments such as Rafa Benitez, Julen Lopetegui and, most recently, Alonso. None of them lasted more than a few months. The president was never truly behind them, and when results gave him the excuse, they were gone.
On the other side sits Perez's own preference: the grand manager, the aristocrat of the touchline, someone whose presence alone commands respect in the dressing room. Think Zinedine Zidane. Think Carlo Ancelotti, twice. That is the template Perez returns to when his patience runs out.
With Alonso gone, the president's line has won again. And the names being considered reflect exactly that.
Now to the name that has been generating headlines - Jose Mourinho.
People inside the club suggest he is not necessarily the only name on the list. The Mourinho option is driven principally by Perez himself… and by the Portuguese manager.
Perez likes to throw ideas out there and see what reaction they get.