​Mourinho is set to take charge of Real Madrid’s preparations on 13 July, marking his first day as head coach with medical tests and initial training sessions. Yet he faces less-than-ideal conditions as he enters the project, a situation highlighted by SPORT due to the disruption caused by the FIFA World Cup and the resulting constraints on player availability in the early pre-season.
The squad division is stark: while Real Madrid have 29 first-team players under contract, Mourinho will begin with only 13 available at Valdebebas. Among these 13, half of them have uncertain futures, with six players whose spots in the squad are not guaranteed — Eduardo Camavinga, Gonzalo Garcia, Raul Asencio, Fran Garcia, Franco Mastantuono, and Thiago Pitarch. Mourinho plans to use the pre-season to assess each one and decide who remains in his plans or leaves during the transfer window. The other seven players expected to report from day one are considered part of the club’s plans: Trent Alexander-Arnold, Andriy Lunin, Alvaro Carreras, Dean Huijsen, Ferland Mendy (injured), Eder Militao (injured), and Rodrygo (injured).
In a recent remark, Mourinho joked about wanting Real Madrid players to lose their World Cup matches and return for pre-season, a provocative comment that underscored his eagerness for the international players to come back promptly rather than spend another month away from club football.
Meanwhile, 12 Real Madrid players remain in the World Cup and will rejoin the club gradually throughout July and early August. The World Cup participants currently with their country are Jude Bellingham, Kylian Mbappe, Aurelien Tchouameni, Ibrahima Konate, Vinicius Jr, Endrick, Marc Cucurella, Thibaut Courtois, Antonio Rudiger, Brahim Diaz, Bernardo Silva, and Denzel Dumfries. Federico Valverde (Uruguay) and Arda Guler (Turkey) have already been eliminated and could join the squad sooner.
With the World Cup final scheduled for 19 July, players reaching the final would begin holidays on 20 July and likely not return until around 10 August. Given that La Liga’s season starts on 15 August, clubs with World Cup finalists may seek to optimize exposure and readiness, but the looming start date adds pressure to Real Madrid’s reshuffling ahead of the new campaign.