The Winners, Losers From Jose Mourinho’s Potential Real Madrid Return

Former Real Madrid boss José Mourinho has emerged as a top candidate to replace Álvaro Arbeloa at season’s end, and the return of “the Special One” could have widespread consequences—both good and bad—on the current crop of players at the Bernabéu.

After another season without winning a major trophy, Los Blancos are in desperate need of a culture shift. Despite having some of the best players in the sport wearing white, the club is at a low point, one only the right character on the touchline can get them past.

Club president Florentino Pérez reportedly views Mourinho, who previously managed Real Madrid from 2010 to 2013, as the ideal candidate to get the 15-time European champions back to their former glory.

If the blockbuster move goes through, there will be some big winners and losers from the appointment that would send shockwaves far beyond the Spanish capital.

Winners

Federico Valverde

Federico Valverde is the type of player Mourinho loves: selfless, versatile, relentless. The Uruguayan can essentially play any position on the pitch, and has done so for the last two seasons. If Real Madrid need an emergency right back? Valverde is there. Someone on the right wing? Valverde is up to it. Aurélien Tchouaméni needs a partner in a double pivot? Sign Valverde up.

The midfielder’s dedication to covering ground, tracking back and doing the majority of the dirty work for his team will not go unnoticed by Mourinho; in fact, it will be celebrated, as will his seemingly never-emptying engine. Valverde comes with the stamina needed to play the style of soccer the Portuguese boss would implement at the Bernabéu.

Combined with his passing accuracy and lethal right foot, Valverde is an all but guaranteed favorite of his potential new boss, who would give his captain all the tools to thrive. Plus, he might finally get some help from his teammates if Mourinho has anything to say about it.

Trent Alexander-Arnold

There’s a reality in which Trent Alexander-Arnold is both a winner and a loser if Mourinho takes over the team. After all, the fullback hardly provides the defensive security and tenacity the Portuguese boss typically demands.

Yet Mourinho’s influence could finally be the guidance Alexander-Arnold needs to hone his game inside his own half. After all, Jürgen Klopp and Arne Slot at Liverpool hardly made defending a top priority for the England international. Then, Alexander-Arnold was injured for much of Xabi Alonso’s reign at Real Madrid, before coming back under Álvaro Arbeloa, who took a similar approach to Klopp.

Finally playing under a defensive-minded manager could turn Alexander-Arnold into an all-round player—but only if the right back puts his head down and buys in.

Losers

Vinicius Junior

Vinicius Junior got free from Xabi Alonso only to potentially play under a manager who would demand even more from him. Mourinho would never stand for the winger’s reluctance to press or pitch in defensively, which would almost assuredly lead to a major clash between the two personalities.

Adding more fuel to the inevitable fire is the shameful incident that occurred when Mourinho’s Benfica hosted Real Madrid in the first leg of the Champions League knockout phase playoffs. Vinicius Jr accused Gianluca Prestianni of racial abuse, but the Argentine insisted he used a homophobic slur instead, which resulted in a six-match ban, though three games were suspended for two years.

Mourinho went on to insinuate that Vinicius Jr’s goal celebration incited the abuse, before claiming Benfica could never be racist because the “biggest person in the history of this club [Eusébio] was Black.”

It would be a wonder if any player would be willing to work with a manager after such comments.

Jude Bellingham

Over the last two years, Jude Bellingham has been forced into a deeper role, to either tactically conform to a manager’s preferences or fill in for injured players. While he’s still impactful, he is nowhere near as lethal.

Bellingham is at his best with license to roam forward. Creative freedom gives the England international the opportunity to play facilitator or take the matters into his own hands with darting runs into the box, where his elite finishing takes center stage.

Yet Mourinho might be the next manager to put constraints on Bellingham in favor of a more rigid, disciplined system. Sure, the midfielder would still have his chances to get involved in the attack, but he would by no means be able to pull the strings like he so brilliantly did in his debut season in a white shirt.

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