Mourinho starts second Madrid spell with bare‑bones squad

Jose Mourinho has begun his second tenure at Real Madrid with a heavily depleted squad, as the ongoing World Cup has stripped pre‑season down to its essentials. Only eight first‑team players reported for medical tests and the opening training session at Ciudad Real Madrid, while Eder Militao, Rodrygo Goes and Ferland Mendy were present solely for rehabilitation check‑ups.

Mourinho’s initial working group featured Dean Huijsen, Trent Alexander‑Arnold, Eduardo Camavinga, Alvaro Carreras, Andriy Lunin, Gonzalo Garcia, Franco Mastantuono and Raul Asencio. Reinforcements will arrive gradually, starting with players whose nations have already exited the tournament: Bernardo Silva, Fede Valverde, Arda Guler, Thibaut Courtois, Antonio Rudiger, Brahim Diaz, Denzel Dumfries and Vinicius Jr.

Semi‑finalists Jude Bellingham, Aurelien Tchouameni, Kylian Mbappe, Ibrahima Konate and Marc Cucurella will return later. Madrid have scheduled friendlies against Fiorentina and Deportivo La Coruna as Mourinho begins shaping the 2026‑27 squad.