{"id":13955,"date":"2026-04-29T13:48:33","date_gmt":"2026-04-29T13:48:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/13955\/"},"modified":"2026-04-29T13:48:33","modified_gmt":"2026-04-29T13:48:33","slug":"real-madrids-predicted-xi-under-jose-mourinho-excludes-two-big-names","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/13955\/","title":{"rendered":"Real Madrid’s predicted XI under Jose Mourinho excludes two big names"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jose Mourinho<\/a> is the favoured candidate of Real Madrid<\/a> president Florentino Perez this summer, according to The Athletic\u2018s David Ornstein.<\/p>\n

After years of relative obscurity, Mourinho appears set for a sensational return to the biggest club in world football. Fireworks are guaranteed.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s how we expect Real Madrid might line up next season if Mourinho\u2019s sat in the dugout, arranged in a 4-2-3-1 formation.<\/p>\n

GK: Thibaut Courtois<\/p>\n

Mourinho\u2019s No.1 in the last league title he won \u2013 the Premier League with Chelsea \u2013 over a decade ago.<\/p>\n

The Belgian was still at Stamford Bridge, albeit mostly sidelined with a meniscus injury, when things derailed spectacularly in 2015-16. Mourinho was sacked, with the Blues near the relegation zone, in December 2015.<\/p>\n

He also said he was \u201cdisappointed\u201d by Mourinho\u2019s claim that Vinicius Junior\u2019s goal celebration led to him being allegedly racially abused by Gianluca Prestianni back in February\u2019s Champions League clash.<\/p>\n

There might be a little lingering awkwardness, then, but nothing that can\u2019t be smoothed out. A no-brainer to stick with an experienced \u2018keeper, arguably still the best in the world, who remains contracted until 2027.<\/p>\n

RB: Dani Carvajal<\/p>\n

As with Chelsea, when Mourinho departed Real Madrid, he left behind scorched earth, a dressing room fractured by mistrust and a lingering haze of bitterness that refused to dissipate.<\/p>\n

But 13 years have passed and all the players from Mourinho\u2019s first stint have since departed.<\/p>\n

Apart from one. And long-serving academy graduate Carvajal, who is now the club captain, has gone on record criticising Mourinho in the past.<\/p>\n

\u201cI felt that I was perfectly ready to play for the first team, but hey, the coach, Mourinho in this case, did not count on me,\u201d the right-back told Marca in 2016.<\/p>\n

\u201cMourinho was a bit opportunistic. When I returned, he said that I needed the year elsewhere for my development.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut had I not done well at Leverkusen, he would have said that I was not good enough for Madrid. I was a good player if I succeeded [at Leverkusen], but a bad one if I did not do well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Enough time has passed and Carvajal has probably gotten over not being trusted by Mourinho as a youngster. He\u2019s won six(!) Champions Leagues and represented his boyhood club over 400 times.<\/p>\n

Mourinho reconciled with Juan Mata at Manchester United \u2013 to great effect<\/a> \u2013 after binning him off at Chelsea, and we could imagine a similar scenario here.<\/p>\n

Carvajal is out of contract at the end of the season, but you\u2019d expect him to stay. A defensively sound, proven winner is much more of Mourinho\u2019s profile than the other guy<\/a>, you\u2019d imagine.<\/p>\n

CB: Antonio Rudiger<\/p>\n

The experienced Germany international\u2019s current deal runs out at the end of the season. Like Carvjal, we expect him to extend.<\/p>\n

A classic Mourinho centre-back if we ever saw one. John Terry. Ricardo Carvalho. Sergio Ramos. Pepe. He needs a mad dog sh*thouse who\u2019ll put their body on the line, and Rudiger certainly fits that bill.<\/p>\n

CB: Jacobo Ramon<\/p>\n

Raul Asencio probably isn\u2019t at the level. David Alaba can\u2019t string a run of games together and will leave. Eder Militao\u2019s persistent injury issues continue. Dean Huijsen has shown lots of promise, but he strikes us as more of a Guardiola defender than a Mourinho one.<\/p>\n

Madrid have been tipped to exercise their cheap-as-chips buyback clause on lofty La Fabrica graduate Ramon, who has developed superbly under Cesc Fabregas at Como.<\/p>\n

One to watch. Mourinho\u2019s new Varane?<\/p>\n

LB: Alvaro Carreras<\/p>\n

The 23-year-old didn\u2019t quite overlap with Mourinho at Manchester United. Nor at Benfica. But we could see them building a fruitful relationship at the Bernabeu.<\/p>\n

Carreras was given a torrid time by Michael Olise in Los Blancos\u2019 recent Champions League defeat to Bayern Munich, and subsequently dropped for the second leg, but we\u2019re not writing him off just yet. Call it valuable experience.<\/p>\n

DM: Rodri<\/p>\n

Real Madrid love signing a Premier League superstar. They love signing a Ballon d\u2019Or winner. Rodri is proven in La Liga, has opened the door to moving back, and Madrid are crying out for a midfielder who will give them control.<\/p>\n

The Spain international is slowly but surely getting back to his best \u2013 the catalyst for Man City\u2019s reinvigorated title charge.<\/p>\n

This one ticks too many boxes. This is Florentino Perez\u2019s next big-name signing. And one who would give Mourinho hope of Madrid seriously competing once again.<\/p>\n

CM: Federico Valverde<\/p>\n

Rodri has been superb of late, but after his ACL lay-off, he appears to have lost a yard of pace and can\u2019t quite cover ground like he used to. Pep Guardiola has compensated for that by dropping the industrious, scuttling presence of Bernardo Silva back in midfield.<\/p>\n

Silva is available on a free, and that thought has surely crossed Perez\u2019s mind. But they\u2019ve already got Valverde, whose incredible engine makes him the perfect counterbalance for Rodri at the base of a new-look midfield.<\/p>\n

\"Jose<\/p>\n

READ: Jose Mourinho back at Real Madrid? We want it & we think we deserve it<\/a><\/p>\n

FWR: Arda Guler<\/p>\n

While not strictly a right winger, Guler possesses the adaptability to do a job there. And Mourinho is a fan.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf Arda Guler wants to come, why not?\u201d Mourinho joked during his stint in Turkey.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf he loves Fenerbahce, if he comes for free and if Real Madrid will pay 75% of his salary, we cannot say \u2018No\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

Looking elsewhere\u2026 Mohamed Salah on a free? Florentino loves a market opportunity<\/a>.<\/p>\n

CAM: Jude Bellingham<\/p>\n

When Jose Mourinho\u2019s Real Madrid won the La Liga title with 100 points and 121 goals scored back in 2011-12, he had prime Mesut Ozil ripping apart defences. The German notched 17 assists that season, a record 11 for Cristiano Ronaldo.<\/p>\n

You only have to look at Ozil\u2019s decline, and the trajectory of James Rodriguez\u2019s career, for evidence that classic, floaty No.10 doesn\u2019t really have the time or space to exist in today\u2019s high-intensity pressing game.<\/p>\n

Bellingham is a completely different kind of player, but he might be the closest workable analogue in 2026. Stick him in front of a Rodri-Valverde pivot and Madrid would boast a well-balanced, powerful midfield featuring a dynamic operator who reliably delivers match-winning moments in the final third.<\/p>\n

The England international has found it tough during Madrid\u2019s recent struggles, but stick him in a functional set-up and he\u2019ll thrive.<\/p>\n

With 23 goals and 13 assists in his debut campaign, he was arguably Madrid\u2019s best player as they claimed a historic La Liga & Champions League double that year.<\/p>\n

FWL: Brahim Diaz<\/p>\n

You\u2019ll notice that Vinicius Junior\u2019s name does not feature here.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s not (exclusively) down to the fallout from the Prestianni incident, although that\u2019s unlikely to help matters.<\/p>\n

Vinicius is approaching the final 12 months of his contract and we appear to be approaching an impasse with negotiations.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Madrid have struggled to get the Brazilian working in tandem with Bellingham and Kylian Mbappe. Of the three, Vini\u2019s departure would make the most sense from both a footballing and a financial perspective.<\/p>\n

Angel Di Maria, Casemiro, Cristiano Ronaldo, Mesut Ozil; Perez has been happy to cash in on star names if a suitably sizeable offer arrives. Vini might just be his next cash cow \u2013 are you there, Saudi Pro League?<\/p>\n

Brahim Diaz, Franco Mastantuono and Rodrygo (expected back January 2027) are three in-house replacement solutions. None would provide anywhere near the same threat or penetration, but they would arguably offer more balance.<\/p>\n

Given the incisive, attacking quality elsewhere, that might just be more important.<\/p>\n

ST: Kylian Mbappe<\/p>\n

Flashbacks to Cristiano Ronaldo\u2019s time at the Bernabeu. The world-record signing didn\u2019t win a thing in his first season at Madrid. He was scoring shedloads of goals, but left eating Barcelona\u2019s dust.<\/p>\n

It was only after the appointment of Mourinho that Ronaldo started to get the silverware to match his goal tally. He won the Copa del Rey. Then La Liga.<\/p>\n

They made great strides in the Champions League, three successive semi-finals, a key step towards winning it four times in five years after Mourinho left.<\/p>\n

Ronaldo notched 168 goals in 164 appearances under Mourinho. That\u2019s the best goalscoring ratio of any coach he\u2019s worked under.<\/p>\n

If Mourinho still has the juice \u2013 and at this point, the jury\u2019s out \u2013 you can imagine similarly stratospheric things for Mbappe.<\/p>\n

\"Jose<\/p>\n

READ NEXT: Where are they now? The Real Madrid XI from Jose Mourinho\u2019s last game in charge, 2013<\/a><\/p>\n

TRY A QUIZ: Can you name Jose Mourinho\u2019s 20 most-used players at Real Madrid?<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Jose Mourinho is the favoured candidate of Real Madrid president Florentino Perez this summer, according to The Athletic\u2018s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":13956,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[4297,4966,82,4298,83],"class_list":{"0":"post-13955","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-madrid","8":"tag-jose-mourinho","9":"tag-latest","10":"tag-madrid","11":"tag-popular","12":"tag-real-madrid"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13955","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13955"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13955\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13956"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13955"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13955"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13955"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}