Mourinho’s Early Eleven Seize Head Start at Valdebebas

Eleven Real Madrid first-team players reported for José Mourinho’s opening pre-season session on 13 July 2026, joined by a dozen academy prospects while most stars remained at the World Cup. The group that answered the call now holds weeks of direct access to the returning coach before the big names filter back in waves.

Journalist Arancha Rodríguez’s call-up list named the available seniors the night before: Andriy Lunin, Éder Militão, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Raúl Asencio, Álvaro Carreras, Ferland Mendy, Dean Huijsen, Eduardo Camavinga, Rodrygo, Gonzalo García and Franco Mastantuono.

The Eleven Who Answered the Call

Morning medical check-ups at Hospital Blua Sanitas and Ciudad Real Madrid cleared the group for the afternoon pitch work. Three of them, Militão, Mendy and Rodrygo, continued individual recovery programmes rather than full contact.

• Goalkeeper: Andriy Lunin
• Defenders: Éder Militão, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Raúl Asencio, Álvaro Carreras, Ferland Mendy, Dean Huijsen
• Midfielder: Eduardo Camavinga
• Attackers: Rodrygo, Gonzalo García, Franco Mastantuono

Camavinga had already returned early on the Friday, described by club sources as simply eager to start. Huijsen and Carreras had completed private conditioning in the preceding weeks.

Why Only a Skeleton Squad Showed Up

Fourteen first-team players featured at the 2026 World Cup in North America. Their return dates track how far their nations advanced.

Group-stage exits brought Arda Güler (Turkey) and Federico Valverde (Uruguay) back first. Round-of-32 departures followed with Antonio Rüdiger and Denzel Dumfries. Round-of-16 exits included Vinícius Júnior, Endrick and Bernardo Silva. Brahim Díaz’s Morocco reached the quarter-finals. Thibaut Courtois picked up a minor muscular issue in Belgium’s quarter-final loss but was expected after a short break. Marc Cucurella, Kylian Mbappé, Aurélien Tchouaméni, Ibrahima Konaté and Jude Bellingham stayed until the semi-finals or beyond, delaying their returns into late July.

Quick numbers from the staggered start

• 14 first-team players at the World Cup
• 10-12 academy players filling early sessions
• 3 seniors on rehab programmes from day one
• 7+ weeks off for the non-World Cup group

Last summer’s Club World Cup hangover still coloured club thinking. President Florentino Pérez and fitness staff linked the prior season’s injuries and results to that congested calendar. Mourinho’s staff arrived determined to rebuild load carefully.

Academy Players Step Straight Into the Work

With so many seniors away, between 10 and 12 Castilla and youth prospects joined every early session. Named among the likely group were goalkeepers Fran González and Sergio Mestre, centre-back Joan Martínez, midfielders Jorge Cestero and César Palacios, and striker Jacobo Ortega.

Spain’s Under-19 European Championship winners (goalkeeper Javi Navarro, right-back Jesús Fortea, centre-back Mario Rivas, left-back Diego Aguado and right winger Daniel Yáñez) were also under consideration once their tournament ended. Some of those academy talents like Yáñez drawing interest from elsewhere this summer still received early first-team minutes under the new coach before any loan or sale decisions.

Mourinho has historically used these windows to assess depth. The youngsters who hold their own now gain a rare line on the senior radar.

Early Auditions Already Favour the Available

Dean Huijsen arrived with a point to prove after missing the World Cup and an uneven first season. Spanish reports said he impressed Mourinho with his condition and extra work. The centre-back faces weeks of starts in friendlies and internal games while Konaté and others remain away.

Álvaro Carreras and Raúl Asencio get the same clean look at full-back and centre-back. Franco Mastantuono, still a teenager, has a clear runway on the right flank before the established wide options return. Gonzalo García starts as the available striker. Camavinga, already one of the fittest, sets the midfield tempo from day one.

Trent Alexander-Arnold, signed from Liverpool in 2025, begins his first full pre-season under the Portuguese. The early group’s fitness edge and tactical immersion create a quiet hierarchy test the later arrivals must reverse.

I am here to create a culture of work, responsibility, ambition and something I know very well: the honour of representing Real Madrid.

Mourinho told club media on arrival. The limited squad hears that message first and longest.

Friendlies Arrive Before the Full Squad

Real Madrid skipped the usual United States tour. They stay based at Valdebebas and travel only for selected games. The first is a friendly against Fiorentina on August 1 at Wörthersee Stadion in Klagenfurt at 18:00 CEST. Deportivo de la Coruña follows on 8 August in the Trofeo Teresa Herrera at Riazor. At least one more warm-up, possibly behind closed doors, is expected.

1. 13 July 2026, Medicals and first training session under Mourinho
2. Week of 20 July, Expected returns for Güler and Valverde
3. Late July, Rüdiger, Dumfries, then Brazil and Portugal contingent
4. 1 August, Fiorentina friendly in Austria
5. 8 August, Deportivo Trofeo Teresa Herrera
6. 22-23 August, Delayed La Liga start away to Espanyol (original Real Sociedad home date postponed for World Cup semi-finalists)

La Liga agreed the delay so clubs with players still involved deep into the tournament could rest properly. Madrid’s meeting with Real Sociedad shifts to midweek after the Espanyol trip.

The Culture Starts With the Early Birds

Official footage and reports from the first session at Ciudad Real Madrid showed gym work followed by activation, high-pressure possession, finishing into small goals and reduced-pitch games. Double sessions marked the first week. Intensity was the repeated note from those present.

Later videos captured players already back, including Rodrygo and Militão watching from the sidelines as the available group pressed and recovered. Fans on X highlighted the immediate defensive transitions after turnovers as a clear Mourinho stamp. The small group sets the standard the World Cup contingent must match on arrival.

Mourinho’s staff includes assistants João Tralhão and Pedro Machado, fitness coach António Dias, analyst Roberto Merella, goalkeeping coach Nuno Santos and former midfielder Sami Khedira. Fitness and medical departments were also reshaped. The early birds absorb the new methods first.

By the time Mbappé, Bellingham, Vinícius and the rest walk back into Valdebebas, the hierarchy will already have weeks of shape. The winners of that quiet head start will not give the ground away easily.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which Real Madrid players started pre-season under Mourinho in July 2026?

The eleven first-team names were Andriy Lunin, Éder Militão, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Raúl Asencio, Álvaro Carreras, Ferland Mendy, Dean Huijsen, Eduardo Camavinga, Rodrygo, Gonzalo García and Franco Mastantuono, plus roughly a dozen academy players who trained with them every day.

When do the World Cup players rejoin Real Madrid training?

Returns are staggered by national-team exit: Güler and Valverde around the week of 20 July, Rüdiger and Dumfries shortly after, the Brazil and Portugal groups the following week, and the semi-finalists (Mbappé, Bellingham, Cucurella and others) even later in July or early August after rest.

What is Real Madrid’s first pre-season friendly under Mourinho?

They face Fiorentina on 1 August 2026 at 18:00 CEST at the Wörthersee Stadion in Klagenfurt, Austria, followed by Deportivo on 8 August in the Trofeo Teresa Herrera.

Is Dean Huijsen starting under Mourinho?

Yes. Reports from the opening days said the centre-back arrived in excellent condition after missing the World Cup, impressed the new coach with extra work, and will get extended minutes while other centre-backs remain away or recovering.

Will academy players get minutes in the friendlies?

Several Castilla and youth prospects trained daily from day one and are expected to feature in the August friendlies while the full senior squad is still incomplete; some face parallel loan or sale interest this window.