Real Madrid president Florentino Perez has denied the club are planning a move to make Jose Mourinho their next manager.
Mourinho spent three years in charge at the Santiago Bernabeu before leaving in 2013 and returning to England for a second spell in charge of Chelsea.
But after Mourinho departed Chelsea on Thursday, leaving last season's Premier League champions just a point outside the relegation zone, the Madrid connection has been again raised.
Asked about Mourinho in an interview with Spanish radio program El Larguero, Perez said: "Nobody can predict the future but right now he is not going to come to Madrid."
With Rafael Benitez at the helm, Madrid have struggled lately and stand five points behind co-leaders Barcelona and Atletico Madrid in the Primera Division.
"Benitez is capable of solving the problems we have," said Perez. "That's the only option we're considering.
"We have very good memories of Mourinho, he raised our competitive level [when he was manager].
"It's not true that the players don't get along with Benitez," Perez said. "I have spoken with them."
Perez also said Barcelona B Castilla manager Zinedine Zidane is not a candidate currently to replace Benitez.
"[Benitez] is not the problem, he's the solution. Zinedine will not replace him. He is the trainer of Madrid and we picked him because we think he's the ideal person for the job. We need to give Benitez time and let him do his job," Perez said.
Of Zidane, Perez added: "What can I say about him? They still give me thanks in the streets for signing him.
"He will be the trainer of Madrid in the future. You can see it. He has learned by leaps and bounds."
