Mourinho is creating another ticking time bomb at Real Madrid

Analysis

Robin Bairner | Chief Editor

Accredited football journalist and editor covering the game since 2006

Jose Mourinho is doing at Real Madrid what Jose Mourinho does.

He builds expensive teams, experienced teams, but often successful teams. The catch is what comes next.

The Portuguese has arrived at the Bernabeu with his usual pragmatism to rebuild a club left embarrassed by a shambolic 2025/26 campaign on nearly every level.

On the field, Madrid fell well short of Barcelona, while off it the team imploded thanks to self-importance in the locker room.

Mourinho, of course, is a master man manager, but he is also a coach with a history of spending big and leaving clubs in difficulty. His 2010 Champions League win with Inter was memorable, but it came at a high cost as he left the San Siro club with an expensive squad over or around 30. Twice he left Chelsea with an aging core, while his departure from Manchester United left the Old Trafford side with expensively signed flops such as Alexis Sanchez and Romelu Lukaku.

His approach is to prioritise players ready to win immediately, even if that means sacrificing a long-term vision.

Mourinho focusing on the here and now

It should come as little surprise that Mourinho has begun rebuilding Real Madrid in a similar fashion.

Handed control of recruitment, he immediately moved for Marc Cucurella, Denzel Dumfries, Ibrahima Konate and Bernardo Silva. Rodri is set to follow while Antonio Rudiger has been retained after appearing destined to leave as a free agent.

Four of those five players are already 30 or older, while Konate, at 27, is generally considered to be entering his peak.

These are signings heavy on certainty, light on potential improvement, comparatively high in cost, but with low resale prospects.

Real Madrid’s finances have been such that they have largely abandoned big transfer fees in recent years. Los Blancos have only signed two players for €65 million or over this decade: Jude Bellingham and Aurelien Tchouameni.

Their investment this summer of more than €100m on Cucurella and Rodri is, therefore, significant by their recent standards. And that’s before wages are considered. Rodri’s salary, for example, is expected to match the estimated €50m that Madrid are splashing to sign him from City.

Out with the young, in with the old

Among the players expected to make way to fund this spending are Alvaro Carreras, Cesar Palacios, Eduardo Camavinga, Aurelien Tchouameni and Goncalo Garcia, while serious questions must now be raised of the viability of Rodrygo continuing at the club. Even Vinicius Junior’s future is not assured amid a long-running contract wrangle.

Exclude Franco Mastantuono and Endrick, who will almost certainly be allowed to leave on loan, and Mourinho is threatening to axe around half his first-team squad under the age of 27 to be replaced by veterans.

The addition of Yan Diomande may seem like a token nod to the future by Mourinho, but he also represents a huge gamble, given Madrid’s €135m fee is nearly four times his Estimated Transfer Value (ETV).

Diomande may be the most exciting wing prospect in the world, but much of the resale value of Madrid’s first-team squad will be tied up in the 19-year-old.

Mourinho has been hired by Real Madrid to win now, and history suggests that he probably will. But the question remains is whether Los Blancos will like the squad they inherit when the veteran coach moves on.

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