Jose Mourinho, now at the helm of Real Madrid, has clarified recent rumors about his plans for the club’s star players. Speaking on the podcast ‘Beast Mode On’, Mourinho touched upon which Real Madrid stars might be on the chopping block, who he’d most like to see win the World Cup, and why, jokingly, he wishes for an early exit for his players from the tournament.
«Do you want the truth?» Mourinho asked podcast host Adebayo Akinfenwa. «I hope Real Madrid’s players all get knocked out early from the World Cup so they can join the season preparation as soon as possible,» he said with a laugh. While a jest, it carries a serious undertone.
Mourinho is scheduled to begin training with Real Madrid on July 13th, right in the middle of the World Cup. The longer his stars remain in the tournament, the later they will join the club. Typically, players receive three weeks of rest after their last World Cup match. If a Real Madrid player reaches the final on July 19th, they would return to Real Madrid four weeks after training begins.
Following the confirmation of Mourinho’s appointment, the Spanish press reported that the 63-year-old was planning extensive changes, including the sale of up to six high-profile players.
In his conversation with Akinfenwa on the ‘Beast Mode On’ podcast, Mourinho seized the opportunity to address these speculations, stating, «We shouldn’t really be talking about Real Madrid, but I want to briefly touch on a small point. I’ve read a few things where people said, ‘Jose Mourinho is coming here and will dismiss some of the top players with whom there were allegedly problems during the season.’ No! I want these players! I want the best players. Now I need to find a way to build a team and not have the kind of problems they had – I don’t know, I’m just reading – in previous seasons. When you have problems with players who are not particularly good, that is a HUGE problem. Great players are just great players.»
Mourinho inherits a squad brimming with stars at Real Madrid and has further strengthened it with new additions such as Marc Cucurella, Bernardo Silva, and Ibrahima Konate.