Sergio Ramos Not Annoyed by Jose Mourinho Real Madrid Return Rumours

Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos has said the speculation linking Jose Mourinho with a return to the club does not annoy him, but he also believes it's disrespectful to current coach Zinedine Zidane. 

Per Goal's Michael Plant, the working relationship between Ramos and Mourinho regressed during the Special One's tenure in the Spanish capital, but the 33-year-old gave no indication he harbours a grudge.

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He is still backing his current coach, however:

"It doesn't annoy me that his name is linked, that's how it is. I don't have to say if it annoys me or not, that's the situation. Here, you lose a game and you have to change something. It's difficult, but that's the reality.

"Everything that surrounds Real fills the newspaper covers and programmes and creates further speculation.

"In my opinion, talking about another coach is showing disrespect to our trainer. In this respect, we have shown that despite recent results we are with Zizou.

"Now you must remain calm. We repeat that we want to maintain good work dynamics and doubt in Real Madrid at this stage of the season would be crazy. Therefore, calmness and faith in this team and this trainer."

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Zidane's position has come under threat after a mediocre start to the season, including a 3-0 drubbing at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Champions League. Les Parisiens were without stars Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and Edinson Cavani, but still easily handled the Spanish giants.

Mourinho, who has been a free agent since he was sacked at Manchester United in December, has said he isn't considering a return to Madrid because Zidane is the current manager. AS' Robbie Dunne believes that strategy actually puts more pressure on Zizou, and also noted the Special One has been talking to the Spanish press a lot of late:

Real are tied for the lead in La Liga after five matches, courtesy of a 1-0 win over Sevilla on Sunday:

They have already dropped points against Villarreal and Real Valladolid, however, and will face Atletico Madrid and Barcelona before the end of October. A poor run against direct title rivals and more struggles in Europe in the next month could well signal the end of Zidane's tenure.

Mourinho coached Real Madrid between 2010 and 2013, winning the 2011-12 La Liga title and a Copa del Rey. During his time at the club, he publicly fell out with several players, most notably legendary goalkeeper Iker Casillas.

Samuel Marsden explained what happened between the two, and how Los Blancos signed Diego Lopez, who became his replacement. Casillas left for FC Porto in 2015.

Mourinho returned to Chelsea to win another Premier League title and the EFL cup, before winning the EFL Cup, FA Cup and UEFA Europa League at Old Trafford.