Mourinho returns to a Real Madrid dressing room under strain

Mourinho returns to a Real Madrid dressing room described as tense, with strained relations and reports of clashes between players. The situation comes ahead of a demanding October: the club is due to travel to Rome in the Champions League and to Barcelona in the Spanish league, while also hosting Villarreal and Sevilla at Santiago-Bernabéu. Those fixtures could have a significant impact on the domestic and European competitions.

The pressure is heightened by Barcelona’s five-point lead in the title race. The level shown by the Catalan side puts it in a position to retain top spot. For Real Madrid, another setback could therefore make the pursuit of the title difficult very early. The team enters this period after the season’s first international break, with the atmosphere in the dressing room offering little reassurance.

The club had presented José Mourinho as the coach tasked with imposing discipline and regaining control of the group. But the persistence of the problems is now prompting questions about whether he can fulfil that brief. Appointing a coach known for his authority also raised expectations: with no visible change in the dressing room, Mourinho himself is facing criticism.

Journalist Antón Meana said on the programme « El Larguero » that Mourinho had not yet managed to change the dynamic of a group that had already experienced problems with Xabi Alonso and Álvaro Arbeloa. Meana also reported that the players had not had good relations with Xabi Alonso or Arbeloa, and that an incident had escalated into a clash between players. He believes the cold atmosphere has persisted despite Mourinho’s personality and presence.

The tension goes beyond relationships between players. The continuing noise around the Kylian Mbappé affair adds to a month described as particularly important for Real Madrid. Julio Pulido, meanwhile, recalled that the club had recruited a coach presented as an « iron sergeant » to end the disorder and impose discipline. He then mockingly called him a « tin sergeant », referring in particular to the possibility that he might defend Mbappé at his next press conference rather than take a firmer stance over the controversy.

On the sporting side, Kylian Mbappé took part in his first full team training session with Real Madrid at Valdebebas on Wednesday, after the international break. Mourinho had moved the session to the afternoon to make it easier for several international players to attend. Mbappé had previously trained individually on Monday, after arriving in the Spanish capital that morning, while his team-mates had already begun their session.

According to Antón Meana, Mbappé is expected to be available against Villarreal on Saturday, and his physical condition after a knee injury appears good. Mourinho could therefore start him from the opening whistle if he chooses. Real Madrid also says the player is in good condition and that there is nothing within the club to suggest Mourinho will stop defending him at the press conference scheduled for Friday. The club sees no problem with the player’s recent conduct and is not yet considering the possibility that some supporters might boo him at Santiago-Bernabéu against Villarreal.

Mbappé’s situation does not, however, account for all of Real Madrid’s difficulties. Miguel Ángel Chazarri believes a sense of distance is also beginning to emerge towards the team’s two stars, Mbappé and Vinícius Júnior. In that assessment, goals alone are no longer enough for Mbappé, who came to Real Madrid to win titles. Difficult seasons, in which the club failed to win several major honours it had usually contested, have also left a clear mark on the group, according to reports in Spanish media.

Analysts at Cadena SER believe the accumulation of problems and habits over recent years may have made the situation too complex for a single coach to solve. Real Madrid’s crisis thus appears to extend beyond the identity of its coach.

October could offer an initial answer about the project’s future: can Mourinho bring the group closer together and make it a more competitive team, or will the same crises continue? If they do, the question may become less about whether Mourinho is responsible and more about whether Real Madrid is facing a deeper problem that no single coach can resolve.