Benzema: Mourinho is the best

Jose Mourinho's decision to commit his future to Real Madrid for another four years has been welcomed by forward Karim Benzema, who has followed team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo in praising the coach and describing the record-breaking Portuguese as the "best coach in the world". Real Madrid announced today they had agreed a contract extension that will tie Mourinho, who signed an initial four-year deal when he joined the club in 2010, to the Bernabeu until June 2016. That news should end speculation about Mourinho's future, with recent reports still linking him with the vacant managerial position at former club Chelsea. It has also gone down well with Benzema, who after a difficult start to life at Madrid following his big-money move from Lyon in 2009 has flourished under Mourinho and last season scored 32 goals in all competitions. The French international said at a promotional event in Paris: "He is the best coach in the world. He's given us things that we didn't have. I'm happy that he's continuing. We are making progress thanks to him, we've won the league." Mourinho led Madrid to the Copa del Rey crown in his first season in charge and in the campaign just completed, he guided the club to their first league title since 2008. That success, which ended Barcelona's three-year reign as Spanish champions, saw Mourinho become the first coach to win the league in Spain, England (Chelsea) and Italy (Inter Milan). The 49-year-old is also one of only three coaches to have won the UEFA Champions League with separate teams having led Porto to the crown in 2004 and Inter in 2010, while he has won numerous other trophies during a hugely successful coaching career that began with Benfica in 2000.