Jose Mourinho set ‘secret’ test for Real Madrid stars immediately before La Liga opener

Jose Mourinho is set to begin his second stint as Real Madrid manager with an away trip to Barcelona to face Espanyol.

Fans of Los Blancos will be excited to see how their side gets on in their La Liga opener, with the club knowing victories against sides like Espanyol will be essential to lifting the title at the end of the campaign.

All eyes will be on the first team that Mourinho names to square off with the Catalan side, but the Portuguese manager has already informed his squad about who will start and now has given them a test to keep it ‘secret’.

Real Madrid has suffered from leaks from the dressing room, and Mourinho knows this all too well, as teams were leaked throughout his first spell.

Last season, Federico Valverde’s accusation of Aurelien Tchouameni providing information to journalists reportedly led to their infamous row.

Now the former Chelsea manager has given the journalists the task of using their ‘connections’ to get the team while appearing to catch which of his players may leak the team to the press.

Endrick celebrates with teammates after scoring a friendly football match between Real Madrid and Fiorentina.

As reported by Marca, Mourinho said: “Let’s see who among you has the best connections. The players already know who’s playing; it’s not my job to keep it a secret. Perhaps you’ll get the information in a couple of hours.”

Rui Faria, Mourinho's assistant during his first spell in charge of Madrid, believes they had worked out who the mole was but admitted that there was very little they could do about it.

He said: “We knew who the mole was; we were almost certain. Because, in the end, the answers were in the newspapers. You can't prove it, but you're almost certain of how things work.”

There were said to be leaks coming out of Manchester United's dressing room while Mourinho was in charge there, and he clearly wants to avoid a repeat at the Bernabeu.

Jose Mourinho's 10 major demands to return to Real

This task to ensure there are no moles in the Real Madrid dressing room is just the latest tactic being deployed by Mourinho to bring success to the club, as it has already been reported that he had 10 demands upon his return to the Bernabeu.

Before his appointment as manager, Mourinho had a video call with club president Florentino Perez to ensure he had everything in place to give him the best possible chance of success.

Firstly, he demanded a minimum of two years for his contract as well as full control of the squad and dressing room, not accepting any interference from the team in regard to his selection.

Then, the Portuguese manager wanted to bring his own coaching staff to the club but would be content had Alvaro Arbeloa remained, but the former interim boss has now departed to take over at Fulham; however, Mourinho suggested fitness coach Antonio Pintus would have to move on.

He wanted a direct line to the medical team to address this area’s issues after an alarming amount of injuries for Los Blancos.

The 63-year-old also wanted to limit his interactions with the press as manager, wanting someone else to be the main spokesperson.

Mourinho wants to speak directly to Perez instead of any other employees, with this being a frustration for him during his first spell.

Another demand was a smaller and less demanding preseason in regard to friendlies, as he wished to work closely with his team on the training pitch to prepare them physically and mentally for the campaign.

The final demand was simply that all of the requests are all part of a package, and even if one is not agreed to, the deal is off.