Jose Mourinho reaches out to Real Madrid star after World Cup disappointment | OneFootball

The first round of the World Cup 2026, the group stage, is already concluded, leaving 32 teams to fight it out in the knock-out rounds of the competition. 15 Real Madrid players participated in this stage of the tournament, including the 4 new signings and Endrick, who returns to the Merengue club after his loan with Lyon.

Unfortunately, 2 of these 15 players have been unable to lead their teams to the knock-out rounds of the competition, i.e., Arda Guler and Federico Valverde, who were both leading players for Turkey and Uruguay respectively and thus would be completely dejected by their early eliminations.

However, this situation also comes with a silver lining, especially for Real Madrid, as they would now be able to join preseason training at an earlier date. In fact, according to a report from SPORT, the new coach, Jose Mourinho, has already been in contact with one of these players, Arda Guler, as he called the Turk after his elimination from the World Cup.

The Portuguese manager took this opportunity to convey his confidence in the young midfielder, and asked him to disconnect from football for the coming days, to return completely refreshed and recharged for the preseason training.

Mourinho has closely followed Guler’s early career, and also wanted him at Fenerbahce when he was still coaching the Turkish side. Still, the next season is not going to be easy for the Turkey international, especially as Bernardo Silva has been signed, and is expected to be the starter in the attacking midfield position.

Thus, Jose Mourinho communicated to Arda Guler that despite not being a guaranteed starter, he would remain an important player for him. For now, it remains to be seen how the new manager would solve the midfield problem at Real Madrid, with Jude Bellingham and Brahim Diaz also vying for the attacking midfield spot in addition to Guler and Silva.