EXCLUSIVE: José Mourinho reacts to reports he'll ruthlessly sell a number of Real Madrid's superstar players

Mourinho officially gets to work at Madrid at the beginning of July having signed a three-year contract to complete a remarkable return to the Bernabeu, where he previously served as head coach between 2010 and 2013, winning three trophies, including a record-breaking Liga title.

The former Chelsea boss has a job on his hands, however, with Madrid having experienced a below-par 2025-26 campaign that saw Xabi Alonso sacked before Alvaro Arbeloa took over. Amid frequent reports of unrest within the camp, Los Blancos could only achieve a second-place finish in the league, while an embarrassing Copa del Rey exit at the hands of Albacete - and having also bowed out of the Champions League at the quarter-final stage - meant change was inevitable.

Following confirmation of Mourinho's appointment, rumours in the Spanish press began to circulate suggesting that the 63-year-old was planning wholesale changes, including as many as six big-name player sales.

Speaking to Adebayo Akinfenwa on the Beast Mode On Podcast, Mourinho took the opportunity to address that speculation, saying: "We shouldn't be speaking about Real Madrid but I can just touch on a little point... I read a few things where people were saying: 'José Mourinho is coming here and he's going to cut some of the top players that supposedly they had some problems during the season'. No.

"I want these players! I want the best players. Now I have to find a way to have a team and not to have problems like, eventually, I don't know, I'm just reading, that they had in previous seasons. If you have problems with not very good players, that is a BIG problem. The big players are the big players."

Mourinho is taking charge of a star-studded squad packed full of talent at Madrid, with the Portuguese having already added to his ranks with the signings of the likes of Marc Cucurella, Bernardo Silva and Ibrahima Konate.

When asked what specifically he looks for in a player, with it likely there will be more incomings at the Bernabeu over the next couple of months, Mourinho added: "Qualities. Sometimes people say: 'This player has amazing quality, but physically he's not very good'. [So that means] he's not good. 'This player, amazing qualities but he's not consistent, he has ups and downs'. So he's not a big player.

"The big player is the complete package. Has to be technically good, has to be physically good, has to be mentally good. Has to be a team player. This is what I'm looking for. Sometimes you have lots of them in your team, and that is paradise, sometimes you have less and the work is a little bit more difficult. I always believe that one of the coach's quality is also to bring players in your direction."

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José Mourinho spoke to Beast Mode On Podcast as part of his partnership with Coca-Cola, whose Jose vs Mourinho project sees two AI versions of the iconic coach go head-to-head discussing World Cup topics daily throughout the finals.