Zinedine Zidane was unveiled as Real’s new manager on Monday after the club sacked Santiago Solari.
Mourinho was heavily linked to the position in recent weeks and Calderon insists the Portuguese was president Florentino Perez’s first choice.
However, some members of the squad, insisted Mourinho should not be appointed.
“I think it’s a good choice. The other one was Mourinho. I think in the last days, the leaders of the dressing room pushed to reject that possibility. He left a lot of problems here.
“He was very controversial when he was here, [there were] a lot of problems, the fans are divided. He’s a good coach, no doubt – he’s got a lot of trophies. But it’s a problem.
“Many, many players, maybe the leaders of the dressing room, didn’t like him.
“I think that’s been important in the decision to call Zidane again and try to convince him.
“They managed to do that and I think it was lucky for Real Madrid. It was a good choice,” Calderon told Sky Sports.
