José Mourinho has laid down a fresh set of rules at Real Madrid, covering everything from nutrition and discipline to injury recovery, as the Portuguese moves to stamp his mark on the club.
According to the Spanish newspaper “AS”, Mourinho studied the situation at the Valdebebas sporting complex on arrival before deciding to make sweeping changes. He concluded the system needed more control and rules that bore his stamp.
Players had previously enjoyed the run of the facilities, organising their days as they pleased. The Portuguese coach decided to tighten oversight, not just during training but across everything surrounding a player’s life: nutrition, injury recovery, even arrival times at Valdebebas.
These rules are applied with rigour and conviction rather than severity alone, “AS” confirmed, because Mourinho sees team spirit as essential to his project. The club underlined the point by publishing a photograph of every player and member of the technical staff eating together at Valdebebas, a scene rarely witnessed before.
Mourinho views the habit as key to team cohesion. He grew accustomed to it during his spell at Benfica before bringing it to Real Madrid.
Sources inside the club told “AS”: “He wants to strengthen team spirit and unity, and it is going in a way that is generating excitement.” Others confirmed that “the atmosphere is very good,” words that carry real weight after a tense end to last season.
Nutrition has changed too. The nutritionist no longer simply hands out advice but now prepares mandatory, pre-determined menus for breakfast and snacks.
Every meal is designed to serve athletic performance rather than personal taste, a sharp break from the freedom that came before.
None of it sparked a row in the dressing room, the newspaper explained. The players met the changes with satisfaction.
Discipline follows the same pattern. The new sanctions policy drew no resentment because it leans on individual gym sessions away from group training rather than financial fines.
Every player must arrive at Valdebebas a full hour before training starts. Any delay brings punishment, without exception or favouritism.
Recovery now happens inside Valdebebas, even where personal trainers are involved, with programmes carried out morning and evening at the complex.
External treatments are no longer permitted, and coordination runs fully through the club and its specialist physical preparation staff.
Recovery is no longer an individual affair, “AS” confirmed, but a collective process under closer supervision than ever. It forms part of the new habits through which Mourinho aims to wipe out the practices he disliked, driven by his conviction that discipline begins before the ball moves and only grows stricter under his watch.