Mourinho lays down discipline rules as he begins reshaping Real Madrid dressing room

Jose Mourinho has moved quickly to establish his authority at Real Madrid, with the Portuguese manager making discipline, hard work and personal responsibility the foundations of his approach after more than a month at the club’s Valdebebas training centre.

According to Spanish newspaper Marca, Mourinho has held meetings with the team’s senior figures and spoken individually with most of the players who have entered his office. The manager is now setting out the principles of what he believes must become a new culture at Real Madrid if the club is to achieve its objectives this season.

Mourinho’s Netflix documentary has also appeared at a significant moment, Marca reports, because it offers an insight into his personality and the way he manages a dressing room. That same mentality is now being applied during his current spell with Real Madrid.

The newspaper has revisited Mourinho’s account of his previous time in charge of the club, particularly his relationship with goalkeeper and then-captain Iker Casillas.

Mourinho recalled that some of his first conversations with Casillas focused on requests involving holidays, training schedules and the way players were treated during training camps.

“In a short time I realised they were spoiled,” Mourinho says in the documentary.

Marca believes the story reflects one of the central ideas Mourinho wants to reinforce this time: players must understand the limits of their privileges, while the relationship between the manager and the squad must be based on responsibility from both sides.

The Portuguese is reportedly seeking to prevent a repeat of the internal problems that emerged during last season, as well as removing habits that have become established within the club over a number of years.

Mourinho believes the most effective way to achieve that is to introduce clear rules from the outset. Every player, in his view, must understand what is expected by the coaching staff and which standards apply both on and off the pitch.

One of the clearest signs of Mourinho’s new routine at Valdebebas is his determination to arrive at the training centre before everyone else.

The early starts are not intended simply as a public display of discipline. Mourinho uses the extra time to observe small details around the squad, including which players arrive early, who is late and whether anyone appears tired or lacking concentration.

Marca says his attention to detail begins from the moment the players arrive at the training ground. Before a session starts, he assesses their state of mind, the way they approach the day and their attitude towards the work ahead. Mourinho considers these apparently minor observations capable of influencing the atmosphere inside the dressing room later on.

Once training begins, he displays the familiar characteristics associated with him. He watches every exercise and movement closely, intervening whenever he believes a detail needs correcting.

Real Madrid’s players have already begun to experience that side of their manager during the first weeks of his work.

Mourinho’s official public appearance reinforced the methods he had started to introduce at Valdebebas. At a special event attended by Real Madrid president Florentino Perez, he described his return to the club as a “mission” and stressed the importance of recovering a culture built around work, responsibility and ambition.

“I am one of you, and I have always been,” Mourinho told the Real Madrid players in a direct message.

According to Marca, the message inside Valdebebas is clear. Mourinho wants to create a different dressing room, one that does not rely on privileges or personal favours but on complete commitment to the team’s rules.

After only one month in the job, the Portuguese manager has already begun imposing a philosophy centred on work, respect and responsibility and, above all, on the belief that there is no room for players to be indulged.