Mourinho Jokes He Wants Real Madrid Stars to Crash Out of World Cup Early

JOSÉ Mourinho has admitted, albeit with a touch of humour, that he hopes several of his Real Madrid players are knocked out of the 2026 FIFA World Cup early, so they can return in time for pre-season training.

The former Chelsea and Manchester United manager made the frank confession during an appearance on the BeastModeOn podcast, where he discussed the challenges the tournament poses to his preparations for the upcoming campaign.

Real Madrid have a significant number of first-team players representing their nations at this summer’s showpiece event, including Kylian Mbappé, Vinícius Júnior, Aurélien Tchouaméni, Antonio Rüdiger and Marc Cucurella. With many of them expected to progress deep into the knockout stages, Mourinho acknowledged the potential disruption to his pre-season plans.

Speaking on the podcast, the Portuguese tactician didn’t hold back when asked what he was looking forward to from the tournament.

“What am I looking forward to in the World Cup? I want Real Madrid players to lose because I want them back for pre-season with me in July!”

While clearly made in jest, the comments underscore the perennial challenge facing top-flight club managers whose key players spend weeks on international duty, leaving precious little time for a proper off-season break and pre-season preparation before the new campaign gets underway.

With Real Madrid’s preparations for the 2026-27 season set to commence in July, the former Porto and Inter Milan boss is evidently eager to have as many of his squad available as possible from the outset.

Whether his tongue-in-cheek wish comes true remains to be seen, but Mourinho’s remarks are sure to raise a few eyebrows among Real Madrid supporters hoping to see their stars shine on the world stage.