Jose Mourinho's Project Begins at Real Madrid

Jose Mourinho finally has his dressing room back.

After nearly a month of pre-season graft with a skeleton squad stripped of its international stars, Real Madrid’s new coach is now working with the core of the group he will live and die with this season. By the end of the week, barring late returns, he is expected to have a full-strength squad at his disposal. That is when the real work starts.

Mourinho’s project truly begins

The drills, the meetings, the double sessions up to now have laid the groundwork. But this is the phase Mourinho relishes: transmitting his ideas, reshaping the hierarchy, bending a star-studded dressing room to his will.

New signings will make or break that process, and one of the most closely watched of them has already reported for duty at Valdebebas. Ibrahima Konate, the headline defensive addition, is in the building and on the pitch.

The Frenchman marked the moment in the way modern footballers do. On his official Instagram, he posted images from his first training session in white, along with a message that left no doubt about his mindset.

“Day one. A new chapter begins,” he wrote, drawing a line under his past and opening the door to what comes next.

“Proud to wear this crest, ready to work, and ready to give everything,” he added. No ambiguity there. Konate knows exactly where he has landed and what will be demanded of him.

A vital adaptation window

These early weeks are not just symbolic. For Konate, they are crucial.

He must absorb Mourinho’s defensive demands, adjust to a new environment, and find his place in a back line where nothing is handed out for free. The tempo of training, the positioning details, the communication with new teammates – all of it has to click quickly if he wants to hit the season running.

Konate arrives as Real Madrid’s premium centre-back signing, but that status comes with context. His previous campaign was uneven, flashes of dominance mixed with spells that left questions hanging. At a club like Madrid, those questions do not linger quietly; they define how much trust you get.

This is his chance to reset that narrative.

A crowded, ruthless pecking order

The badge is heavy, and so is the competition.

Mourinho has already made it clear that Raul Asencio is not part of his plans, trimming one option from the list. Even so, the fight for starting spots at centre-back remains fierce.

Antonio Rudiger stands as a powerful candidate to retain his place in the XI. His aggression, experience, and personality on the pitch fit naturally with Mourinho’s defensive ideals. Eder Militao, once fully recovered from injury, is expected to push straight back into contention as well, his pace and recovery defending giving the team a different dimension.

Then there is Dean Huijsen. His stock may have dipped in recent months, but his talent has never really been in dispute. Under a coach like Mourinho, who often relishes moulding defenders, Huijsen will see this pre-season as his own opportunity to climb the ladder again.

Konate walks into this landscape with no guarantees. Name, fee, reputation – they open the door, but they do not keep it open.

For him, every training session is now an audition. Every friendly, a statement. If he wants to anchor Mourinho’s defence, he will have to earn it the hard way, on the grass, under the scrutiny that only Real Madrid can generate.

Day one is done. The battle for a place in the XI starts now.