According to OKDIARIO, Mourinho has long had the core of his backroom team settled and travelled to Valdebebas for several days even before the club's official announcement, accompanied by his two most trusted lieutenants, assistant coaches João Tralhão and Pedro Machado. During the visit, Mourinho attended meetings, met the existing technical staff, and began organising pre-season planning, including friendly fixtures.
Mourinho described his preferred working method to those around him.
"I like to be there the next day, see who arrives earlier and who arrives later, and immediately start to speed things up."
The one remaining decision concerns a staff profile Mourinho wants with either a direct connection to Real Madrid or significant experience in Spanish football. Several names have been discussed, though one option that had gained momentum in recent days has now been ruled out entirely.
Pepe, the former Real Madrid centre-back who played 334 times for the club and won three Champions League titles, had been strongly linked given his close relationship with Mourinho from their time together between 2010 and 2013. According to journalist Mario Cortegana, that option has been "definitively ruled out" for now, with no formal contact ever having taken place between the parties despite extensive media speculation suggesting otherwise.
Ricardo Carvalho has since emerged as the more likely candidate. The 47-year-old, another veteran of Mourinho's Chelsea, Porto and Real Madrid sides, is currently working as an assistant coach with the Portugal national team at the World Cup — a commitment that complicates any immediate appointment, given Portugal's participation in the tournament continues for at least several more weeks.
Mourinho's established staff includes assistants Tralhão and Machado, fitness coach António Dias, analyst Roberto Merella and goalkeeping coach Nuno Santos — five figures who worked with him during his time at Benfica and, in several cases, across multiple previous clubs.
The decision on the final piece, Mourinho has made clear, is one he intends to take in his own time. Whether that means waiting for Portugal's World Cup campaign to conclude — and for Carvalho to become available — or pivoting to an alternative candidate connected to the club, remains to be seen.
For a manager known for moving quickly once decided, leaving one seat deliberately empty says as much about Mourinho's priorities as the five names already filling the others.