José Mourinho Begins Second Spell at Real Madrid

José Mourinho clocks in again at Real Madrid. No fanfare, no grand unveiling. Just medicals at dawn and a ball on the grass by late afternoon.

On Monday morning, 13 July 2026, the Portuguese officially began his second spell in charge at Valdebebas, with players reporting first to Clínica Sanitas for routine checks before Mourinho led his opening training session at 17:00. After weeks of speculation and boardroom planning, this was the first tangible moment: the new era starting not with a speech, but with sprints, tests, and drills.

A Quiet First Day, Big Names Missing

The first session was deliberately lean. This is not yet the Real Madrid Mourinho will truly coach.

World Cup commitments have stripped the group of its biggest stars. Jude Bellingham, Kylian Mbappé, Vinícius Jr and Thibaut Courtois are among those still on international duty or on post-tournament leave, with their returns staggered over the coming weeks. Their absence changes the dynamic. The cameras may linger on the touchline, but the heavyweights are not yet in the building.

In their place, a different kind of core took to the pitch. Eduardo Camavinga, already central to Madrid’s midfield future, was there from day one. So too Franco Mastantuono, the teenage talent thrust into an early audition under one of the game’s most demanding managers. Trent Alexander-Arnold, a headline signing and tactical puzzle in his own right, began the process of adapting to Mourinho’s orders. Dean Huijsen, another young defender with high expectations attached, also reported for duty.

These are the first players to work directly under Mourinho in this new chapter. They will form his initial impression of the dressing room, long before Mbappé or Bellingham even lace up a boot for him.

To make up numbers, Mourinho will lean on Castilla. Youth players will fill the gaps, train with the first team, and offer the coaching staff a broader view of the club’s talent base. It is a practical solution to a World Cup-complicated calendar, but also a reminder: this pre-season will be fragmented, and Mourinho’s full assessment of his squad will take time.

Taking Over a Restless Club

This is not a typical Madrid handover. It comes after a period of churn.

Mundo Deportivo underline the instability that has preceded Mourinho’s return. Xabi Alonso’s project, full of promise, lasted roughly a year. Álvaro Arbeloa, promoted from youth ranks to steady the ship, managed only about six months before the club moved on again. Two ideas, two short-lived regimes, and not enough trophies to justify the turbulence.

The mandate now is blunt. Real Madrid want consistency and results from a squad that, on paper, carries elite individual quality but has failed to translate that into regular silverware. This is the environment Mourinho walks back into: a club that has been searching for an identity and a manager who has built his career on imposing one.

He has not arrived cold. Since Florentino Pérez secured re-election as club president and confirmed Mourinho’s appointment, the Portuguese has been at work behind the scenes. Monday was simply the moment when the planning left the office and hit the pitch.

Reports, including those from Football España, have pointed to early moves in recruitment and adjustments to his coaching staff, signs that Mourinho has been shaping the project before a ball was officially kicked in pre-season. The direction is being set now, with the full squad still scattered around the globe.

Press Conferences Can Wait, Decisions Cannot

Curiously, the formalities lag behind the football. Mundo Deportivo report that no date has yet been fixed for Mourinho’s official press presentation. The cameras will eventually roll, the questions will come, and the soundbites will be dissected. For now, though, the work is happening in relative quiet.

Transfer business remains live on both fronts. The same source notes that both the entrance and exit doors at the Bernabéu are open. The club’s core structure is broadly settled, but this is Madrid: no squad is ever truly finished. Roles can change, futures can be reassessed, and opportunities can appear or vanish in a single window.

The real judgments, though, will not be made on a July training pitch stripped of its World Cup stars. They will come when Bellingham strides back into midfield, when Mbappé and Vinícius Jr share a front line under Mourinho’s command, when Courtois returns to marshal the back line. Only then will the true shape of this team emerge.

For now, it is a skeleton group, a manager with a long memory of this club, and a fanbase waiting to see whether this second act will bring the relentless trophies that have eluded Madrid in recent seasons—or simply another brief, restless chapter in a story still searching for its next defining era.