JOSE Mourinho returned to Real Madrid’s Valdebebas training centre on Monday to begin preseason training after taking charge of the club’s first team for a second spell.

With many of Real Madrid’s first-team players, such as Jude Bellingham and Kylian Mbappe, still at the World Cup, Mourinho will not be able to train with the full squad for some time. However, he told Real Madrid TV that work had begun long before Monday’s opening session.

“It’s not like I arrived here today and everything starts now. We’ve been working hard for a long time with the club’s structure at different levels,” he explained.

Mourinho returns to the club 13 years after leaving in June 2013 and said he was delighted to be back.

“This feels like a mission. It’s not about worrying about myself or whether I’ll win a lot or a little. I’m here to help everyone become better: players, staff, and to create a culture of work, responsibility, ambition, and responsibility.” — Xinhua