Jose Mourinho Decides on Major Real Madrid Issue Before Pre-Season

Real Madrid gear up for the pre-season with Jose Mourinho as their new manager, as the Portuguese will now take charge of Los Blancos for a second time in his managerial career.

Mourinho's appointment seems to be closely tied to Los Blancos' dressing-room problems in the previous campaign.

Both Xabi Alonso and Alvaro Arbeloa failed to handle the tumultuous situation at the club, which was evident in their results last season, as the Whites ended yet another campaign without winning any major trophy.

As a result, Florentino Perez reportedly made up his mind about appointing Mourinho, even while Arbeloa was still in charge of the Merengues.

Now, after a really strong start to the summer transfer window, Mourinho is looking to settle things down a bit before making a few more additions to the side.

According to a recent report from MARCA (h/t Get Football News Spain), the Portuguese manager has decided to go with Fede Valverde as Los Blancos' captain for the new season.

The report suggests Mourinho has no intentions of giving the captaincy to any other player in the squad and sees Valverde as a key player going into the new campaign.

According to the club's traditions, Valverde was the obvious choice for the role, as he is currently the most senior player in the squad in terms of time spent in the Spanish capital.

There were some obvious uncertainties regarding the Uruguayan's future at the club following his reported dressing-room clash with Real Madrid midfield partner Aurelien Tchouameni.

The Madrid duo have yet to play alongside each other since that incident, but both have issued apologies during the previous campaign.

Looking at the recent developments at the club, both Tchouameni and Valverde have seemingly put their differences behind them, as Los Blancos decided to extend the Frenchman's contract until the summer of 2031, making him one of the highest-paid players at the club.

According to multiple reports, Mourinho has made it clear that Valverde will stay at the club despite rumors of an exit for the 27-year-old.

Many rumors suggested that Mourinho might hand over the captaincy to Kylian Mbappe ahead of the new campaign, but recent reports have seemingly put an end to them.

Uruguay's early departure from the World Cup also means Valverde will arrive earlier than the others taking part in the ongoing tournament.

This will give Mourinho ample time to assess his captain ahead of the season, as Valverde looks to cement his place in the starting 11 with a strong pre-season.