Real Madrid's Fitness Challenge Under Mourinho

Real Madrid’s fitness problem has hung over the club for years, surviving coaches, systems and transfer windows. Now it has run straight into Jose Mourinho.

The numbers that exposed the issue were brutal. When Arsenal knocked Real Madrid out of the UEFA Champions League two seasons ago, data showed Los Blancos covered 12.7km less than the Premier League side over the tie. At this level, that gap is enormous. It screamed of a team that could not live with the tempo of modern European football.

Last season did little to change that perception. Madrid were repeatedly outrun, especially in high-stakes matches, and they paid for it late in games. Goals conceded in the final minutes became a recurring theme, the image of exhausted white shirts chasing shadows an uncomfortable one for a club that prides itself on dominance.

Mourinho has taken that personally.

Mourinho turns up the heat

According to Diario AS, the new Real Madrid manager has wasted no time reshaping the physical demands at Valdebebas. His sessions are described as “brutal”, and that is exactly how players are feeling them.

The tone has shifted. The ball is still there, but the emphasis is clear: this team will run. The physical side of preparation is being hammered home day after day, with Mourinho making fitness a non-negotiable rather than a box to be ticked.

Real Madrid’s first-team squad is now working through two training sessions per day, doubling the workload from recent seasons. Players hear one phrase over and over on the training pitches: “lots of intensity.” It is not a slogan; it is an order.

Mourinho has always demanded a ferocious work rate from his sides. He expects forwards to press, midfielders to cover ground, defenders to step out aggressively and reset. At Madrid, he has identified conditioning as the foundation that must be rebuilt before anything else can stand.

Time running against the coach

There is, however, a problem he cannot solve with whistles and stopwatches: time.

Many of Madrid’s key players have only just returned from international duty at the World Cup. That has left Mourinho with less than a week to work with several starters before the opening game of the new season. No elite coach pretends you can transform a squad’s physical profile in a handful of days.

The reality is harsh. The early weeks of the campaign are likely to expose some of the same issues that have haunted Madrid in recent years. Heavy legs. Late-game dips. Opponents finishing stronger.

Names like Kylian Mbappé and Vinícius Jr. sit at the centre of this debate. Both were heavily criticised last season for their limited defensive contribution, particularly in big matches where Madrid were pinned back and needed every player to work without the ball.

Now comes the tactical question: will Mourinho demand that his two attacking stars track back relentlessly, or will he protect their legs and assign the dirty work to others behind them? His decision there will define not only the team’s structure, but also how sustainable this new physical regime becomes.

A long road, not a quick fix

Everyone inside the club understands one thing: this is not a switch to be flicked. Building an elite physical base is a process that takes months, not weeks.

The early double sessions, the relentless focus on intensity, the unforgiving tone on the training ground – they are only the starting blocks. The real test will come in October, November, when the schedule tightens, the Champions League bites and the legs that once faded in the 85th minute are expected to surge instead.

For a club obsessed with instant success, the irony is clear. To fix their most glaring weakness, Real Madrid must think like distance runners, not sprinters. The question is whether the squad – and the season – will give Mourinho the time he needs to finish the race.