Real Madrid Confirms Departure of Chus Mateo

Chus Mateo's tenure as head coach of Real Madrid basketball is now over. The Chamartín club officially announced on Thursday the departure of the coach who had been at the helm for the past three seasons. Despite the recent Liga Endesa victory after defeating Valencia Basket in the final, the club has decided to move on as part of the section's restructuring process, with Sergio Rodríguez returning as the sporting director.

Chus Mateo, who took over in 2022 following the dismissal of Pablo Laso, whom he assisted after the Vitoria coach suffered a heart attack in early June of that year, leaves the Real Madrid coaching position with six titles to his name: one EuroLeague, two Leagues, one Copa del Rey, and two Spanish Super Cups. Additionally, he was named EuroLeague Coach of the Year for the 2023-2024 season.

However, the decision to part ways was significantly influenced by Real Madrid's disappointing performance in the latest EuroLeague edition, a tournament where the team reached December on the ropes. Despite a remarkable end to the regular season that allowed them to reach the playoffs, after going through the play-in, they missed out on the Final Four for the first time in four years, falling to Olympiacos in the quarter-finals.

Defeated in the Spanish Super Cup final by Unicaja, who also bested them in the Copa del Rey final, Real Madrid salvaged the season by dominating the Liga Endesa, which was not enough to prevent Chus Mateo's dismissal as part of the basketball section's ongoing revolution.

The return of Sergio Rodríguez, who will lead the sporting department a year after retiring from the courts, was the first step in a process that took another turn on Thursday with the announcement of Chus Mateo's departure, likely to be replaced by Sergio Scariolo.

The Italian, currently the Spanish national team coach, confirmed on Wednesday that he will leave the national team after the EuroBasket, which will take place between August 27 and September 14, and is expected to join Real Madrid, a team he previously managed from 1999 to 2002. Notably, Scariolo shares an agent with Chus Mateo.

Apart from the changes in management and coaching, Real Madrid is also set for a hectic summer in terms of squad composition. Dzanan Musa, Serge Ibaka, Xavier Rathan-Mayes, Hugo González, and Eli John Ndiaye are expected to leave, while Theo Maledon and David Kramer are set to join. The club aims to sign another shooting guard to replace Musa and a power forward to fill the gap left by Guerschon Yabusele's move to the NBA.