Real Madrid have not won a single trophy in two seasons, which is tantamount to a scandal at this club. So Florentino Perez has hired Jose Mourinho to whip Madrid back into elite shape again, and he will have his eye on a few key players who need to step it up after disappointing 2025/26 La Liga campaigns. Here are the three biggest bounce back candidates under the legendary Portuguese manager in 2026/27.
CM Fede Valverde
Real Madrid center midfielder Fede Valverde did not have the worst season and had a few big highs, such as his performance against Manchester City in the Champions League knockouts, but the Uruguayan international was far, far from world class and seemed to take a real step back, making more headlines for being disrespectful to the coach and for a dust up with Aurelien Tchouameni.
Plus, Valverde tanked his reputation with a historically bad World Cup display. Mourinho loves players like Valverde who fight for the badge and have quality, and Mou is ready to bring that right back out of Fede, rather than punishing him by stripping him of the captaincy or devaluing what he can do. He is a two time Champions League winner for a reason.
LW Vinicius Junior
Vinicius Junior is also a Champions League winner, twice, and even more crucial to Real Madrid in both triumphs, but he, too, is coming off a season in which he made all the wrong headlines. While at least half of the Real Madrid fan base will say Jose needs to bring more out of Kylian Mbappe than Vini, the truth is that Vini could be playing a lot better and getting many more assists with a smarter approach to the game. Mourinho loves Vini, but he is here to finally kill the bad habits that Alvaro Arbeloa and Carlo Ancelotti failed to address.
LB Alvaro Carreras
Bigger than Mbappe, Vini, or Fede, Alvaro Carreras was part of a group of Spanish malcontents who threw tantrums, disprespected the coach, and just flat out stopped trying for Real Madrid last season. Despite costing 50 million euros as Xabi Alonso's bizarre pick over his former Invincible left back Alex Grimaldo, Carreras has accomplished nothing in world football. But he is suddenly determined to succeed under Jose Mourinho, who mercifully kept him around as star man Marc Cucurella's backup left back. With the bad influences gone, Carreras can easily bounce back, because he really does have a lot of raw talent for Mou to tap into.
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