To José Mário dos Santos Mourinho Félix

Dear Mr. Mourinho,

Real Madrid's project with you as a coach has come to an end in dramatic fashion. However, we, as madridistas, should all look back and be proud about what you were able to accomplish in the biggest sport club in history. We all probably expected you to bring us La Décima, but the team fell one goal short of being in the Champions League Final two consecutive years. You finally inspired Real Madrid and allowed its fans to finally enjoy a game of football against arch rivals FC Barcelona.

I personally think that you would've accepted to stay if big changes were made in the dressing room. President Florentino Pérez decided to give power to the players instead. We will never know how things would've developed in the next few seasons with you in command, but we do know that the big egos in the dressing room and the pressure the Spanish press put on you and your family was simply unacceptable for such a small thing like football. That's why I'm somewhat happy with your decision. I want you and your family to be respected and I'm sure you won't be called a "Portuguese Nazi" nor your son will be persecuted by the press when he's training with his neighborhood football team.

The structure of the club you created will hopefully carry on without you, and that's the biggest legacy you give to Real Madrid. You won our 32nd Spanish Liga title and our 18th Copa del Rey, both against Pep Guardiola's FC Barcelona, but the British way of managing a club is far more important than titles. Real Madrid was stuck in the 20th century when you arrived but you were able to change that and make the club move into the 21st century. Let's hope Florentino Pérez respects that legacy.

You might have realized that Real Madrid is way bigger than what you expected. Chelsea FC and Inter Milan are great clubs, but none of them are as difficult as los blancos. The players aren't used to being benched when they deserve it, and you saw how the press protected them for missing just one game. In Inter, even players like Samuel Eto'o took care of business when you told them to play as left backs. Real Madrid's players are not that gentle, I'm afraid.

It's really sad to see you leaving. We will try to move on as soon as possible with whoever the new coach is. I wish you all the best in your next seasons with Chelsea FC. I will now finally have a second team to cheer for.

Counting the days until you come back.

Yours sincerely,

Lucas Navarrete Martín, on May 22nd 2013.