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In a bid to heal the fractured dressing room at the Bernabéu, newly appointed Real Madrid manager José Mourinho intends to foster "very fluent and honest dialogue" with his players to prevent further conflicts, both on and off the pitch.
Los Blancos' 2025–26 campaign descended into turmoil, with internal disputes compounding an already trophy-free season. Kylian Mbappé locked horns with former manager Álvaro Arbeloa, Antonio Rüdiger struck Álvaro Carreras, and a heated altercation between Aurélien Tchouaméni and Federico Valverde left the Uruguayan requiring hospital treatment.
To cap off a miserable season, Real Madrid couldn't even sign off with a Clásico victory, suffering a 2–0 defeat to arch-rivals Barcelona in a limp performance that alienated even the club's most devoted fans of the 15-time European champions.
Mourinho's homecoming represents a chance for a fresh—if familiar—chapter in the Spanish capital, and the "Special One" already has a clear first step in mind to pull his side out of their slump.
How Mourinho Plans to Get Real Madrid Back to Winning Ways
Patience at the Bernabéu has worn thin, and Mourinho will have little time to breathe new life into a Real Madrid squad that has gone without a major trophy since Mbappé's arrival from Paris Saint-Germain ahead of the 2024–25 season.
When pressed on the club's internal tensions and the team's inability to perform consistently with Mbappé in the side, Mourinho offered a measured response.
"I have to see with my own eyes," he told Vanity Fair. "I need to understand things that in this moment, I don't know. What I know in this moment is what I read in the media, what I watch on TV. I need to know the players.
"It's not time to talk. It's time to be very calm and to be analyzing and to communicate and to ask questions and to answer questions and to [open a] very fluent and honest dialogue. Because in the end, what I want to do is to help the players to be better, to help the team to be better, to help the club to be better. I'm there to help everybody—not to criticize, not to speak, but to listen.
"The only thing I can say about Kylian Mbappé is that he's a phenomenal player, and I'm going to try to help him to be even better than this."
The Mbappé Problem Looming Over Real Madrid
Even if Mourinho manages to unite a dressing room that now includes new signings Marc Cucurella, Ibrahima Konaté, Bernardo Silva and Denzel Dumfries, questions remain over how to unlock the team's full potential with Mbappé spearheading the attack.
The Frenchman is an undeniable goal machine, having netted 86 times across his two seasons in the famous white jersey. Yet despite Mbappé topping the scoring charts since his arrival, Real Madrid have nothing in the trophy cabinet to show for it.
By contrast, in the season before Mbappé joined, Los Blancos claimed La Liga, the Champions League and the Spanish Super Cup, with an attack built around Vinicius Junior. The Brazilian has struggled to forge genuine chemistry with Mbappé over the past two years; the two stars frequently gravitate toward the same areas on the left flank and tend to perform better when the other is absent.
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One only needs to look at their respective World Cup performances as evidence of their individual brilliance. Both Mbappé and Vinicius Jr have scored four goals apiece, placing them firmly in contention for the Golden Boot. Yet in the biggest Real Madrid matches, the pair consistently struggle to click and deliver when it matters most.
Mourinho becomes the latest manager tasked with making the two forwards work in tandem, following the failed attempts of Carlo Ancelotti, Xabi Alonso and Arbeloa. Unless Mbappé and Vinicius Jr can forge a genuine partnership, Real Madrid face the prospect of yet another long and fruitless season.