Mourinho’s staggered start at Real Madrid amid World Cup chaos

Real Madrid will officially begin pre‑season on 13 July, with José Mourinho overseeing his first medical tests and training sessions as the club’s new head coach, but the Portuguese manager faces a fragmented squad as the ongoing FIFA World Cup limits player availability.

Mourinho will start with only 13 of the 29 contracted first‑team players available at the Valdebebas training ground. Six of those 13 – Eduardo Camavinga, Gonzalo Garcia, Raul Asencio, Fran Garcia, Franco Mastantuono and Thiago Pitarch – have uncertain futures as their place in the squad is not guaranteed.

The seven players expected to report from day one are Trent Alexander‑Arnold, Andriy Lunin, Alvaro Carreras, Dean Huijsen, Ferland Mendy, Eder Militao and Rodrygo. Mendy, Militao and Rodrygo are listed as injured, but their presence signals they remain part of the club’s plans.

Mourinho recently said, “You want the truth? I want the Real Madrid players to lose and go on vacation.” He added that he wants the lads back for pre‑season, reflecting his frustration with the World Cup’s impact.

Twelve Real Madrid players remain involved in the World Cup and will return only after their national teams are eliminated. They 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 and Arda Guler have already been eliminated and could join the squad earlier than the others.

The World Cup final is set for 19 July, meaning players reaching the final will begin their holidays on 20 July and likely return around 10 August. With La Liga scheduled to start on 15 August, clubs with World Cup finalists will begin the campaign without several key players. Club president Florentino Perez previously cited the expanded Club World Cup as a factor in a difficult campaign, and the current World Cup again forces Mourinho to build his project gradually as the squad filters back to Valdebebas over several weeks.