Real Madrid’s dream 2026-27 XI under Jose Mourinho after Perez wins election | OneFootball

Florentino Perez has successfully defended his Real Madrid presidency by winning the election and can now set his plans in motion for their big summer rebuild.

It will all start with the return of Jose Mourinho as manager, before some major work in the transfer market as Madrid look to get back where they belong.

With some deals already lined up and others in the works, here’s our predicted Real Madrid XI next season under Mourinho.

GK: Thibaut Courtois

No change needed in goal just yet, with Mourinho ready to reunite with his old Chelsea keeper Courtois.

Mourinho made the bold decision to pick Courtois as Chelsea’s number one over the iconic Petr Cech in 2014 and it immediately paid off as they won the Premier League.

At 34, the Belgian is now older than Cech was when that decision was made, but Mourinho doesn’t have an obvious candidate to take over from him – and has little need for one either.

RB: Denzel Dumfries

The first new signing and it’s one that could dislodge Trent Alexander-Arnold from the team.

Madrid are ready to activate the €20m release clause of Inter right-back Dumfries and you can see Mourinho preferring him to Alexander-Arnold.

Chances are they’ll rotate, especially with Dumfries now being 30, but Madrid wouldn’t be committing to this deal without realistic expectations of relying regularly on the Dutchman.

CB: Ibrahima Konate

Another imminent addition will be Konate once his contract with Liverpool expires at the end of the month. They’ve only gone and done it again.

Just like with Alexander-Arnold last year, Madrid emerged as the winners from the Liverpool defender’s contract saga.

The 27-year-old will be hoping to step in as a regular starter for his new club, though with competition from the likes of Dean Huijsen and Eder Militao, he may have to bide his time to start with like he did at Liverpool.

CB: Antonio Rudiger

Madrid have already said goodbye to one of their experienced centre-backs, David Alaba, but you’d assume Mourinho would want to keep some seniority at the back.

Rudiger has reportedly agreed to renew his contract for another season, in which he could be an important player if he can stay fit.

LB: Riccardo Calafiori

When we last tried predicting Madrid’s lineup under Mourinho, we assumed he’d be happy to give Alvaro Carreras a chance at left-back.

Since then, though, Madrid have supposedly made initial contact for Arsenal defender Calafiori, who Mourinho helped launch at Roma.

As someone who can play at left-back or centre-back, Calafiori could become an ideal replacement for Alaba.

It won’t be easy to prise him away from Arsenal, though.

CM: Enzo Fernandez

The potential signing of Rodri was a big part of Enrique Riquelme’s presidential campaign, but Perez has seemed less keen.

There’s still an awareness that Madrid need something new in midfield after struggling to replace Luka Modric and Toni Kroos, but it might be a younger player to develop for the future.

But what if there’s a way to sign someone approaching their peak? It’s what Mourinho would have been used to in Madrid before, after all.

Our friends at TEAMtalk have reported that Perez and Mourinho are both big admirers of Chelsea midfielder Fernandez.

He’ll probably cost a fortune, but Chelsea might be more open to selling the Argentine than previously imagined.

CM: Federico Valverde

In terms of Madrid’s existing midfield options, there are now reports claiming Mourinho doesn’t want Aurelien Tchouameni to leave.

But whether he sees the Frenchman as a starter or not, along with the likes of Eduardo Camavinga, remains to be seen.

One player Mourinho should certainly be able to count on is Valverde, whose energy will be a big asset.

Able to play at right-back or in midfield, Valverde should be freed up to focus more on the latter – his natural position – thanks to the addition of Dumfries.

RW: Michael Olise

They couldn’t, could they?

Perez teased making the biggest offer in Madrid’s history in the build up to being re-elected. He refused to say his €150m target was Olise, but many believe he was bluffing.

Such an offer might fall on deaf ears, with Bayern Munich in no mood to sell Olise. But if we’ve learnt anything from the Perez regime, it’s that if he wants something, he’ll do his damnedest to get it.

AM: Jude Bellingham

Mourinho has praised Bellingham’s character before, pointing to a big-game personality that the English midfielder will be hoping to revive in his fourth season with Madrid.

In all competitions, Bellingham scored as many goals in the second and third put together as he did in the first.

Should all go to plan, Mourinho will be the manager to unlock his potential again.

LW: Vinicius Junior

Vini Jr’s future has been called into question ahead of the appointment of Mourinho, largely because of the Gianluca Prestianni incident when Madrid faced Benfica in the Champions League this season.

The fact that Vini’s contract is approaching its final year adds further doubt to the situation.

But both parties reportedly want to continue together. It might be awkward at first, but if Vini stays, he’ll be expecting to play a key role.

CF: Kylian Mbappe

Riquelme tried to sell dreams of signing Erling Haaland, which would have pushed Mbappe over to the left wing, but the Frenchman is all set to continue as a striker now.

Just the 86 goals from 103 games for Madrid so far. That’s pretty good if you ask us, but the big number looming over Mbappe is a zero: how many major trophies Madrid have won since he joined.

With Mourinho at the helm, there will be huge expectations to change that next season.