Jose Mourinho is preparing for a pre-season period completely different from that experienced by his predecessor Xabi Alonso, after the postponement of the first round of the Spanish league gave the Portuguese coach a clear advantage in terms of preparation for the new season.

While Alonso only had 15 days to start working last summer due to the team's participation in the 2025 Club World Cup, Mourinho will benefit this year from a full six weeks to prepare the team, a period that gives him more room to prepare the players and implement his tactical ideas as the squad gradually completes.

The team held its first training session on Monday with eight players and 12 youngsters. The coaching staff awaits the return of international players in stages over the coming weeks, after their participation in the 2026 World Cup.

AS newspaper has set an approximate schedule for the return of Real Madrid stars to training.

It said: 'Turkish Arda Guler will be the first to return on July 17, followed by Uruguayan Federico Valverde on July 18. German Antonio Rudiger is scheduled to join, before the return of Brazilian Vinicius Junior and his compatriot Endrick on July 27, and Moroccan Brahim Diaz on July 31.'

It continued: 'Thibaut Courtois will return on August 1,' after recent tests on the Belgian player revealed that his injury against Spain in the 2026 World Cup quarterfinals is not as serious as expected.

The French duo Aurelien Tchouameni and Kylian Mbappe, along with Englishman Jude Bellingham, are expected to join between August 5 and 10, gradually completing the team before the start of the season.

Start of new arrivals

As for the new stars signed by Real Madrid during the current summer transfer window, they will be as follows:

Dutch Denzel Dumfries: July 21.

Portuguese Bernardo Silva: July 28.

French Ibrahima Konate and Spanish Marc Cucurella: between August 5 and 10.

The French and Spanish national teams continue their journey in the 2026 World Cup, as they meet tomorrow, Tuesday, in the semifinals.

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