José Mourinho’s return to Real Madrid this summer marks the start of a new era. Or at least, the return to an old one.It is 13 years since the Portuguese manager left the Bernabéu under the cloud after failing to deliver a trophy in his final season.But while the lows were low under Mourinho, the highs were high. Just the season before his acrimonious exit, Real Madrid experienced their best-ever La Liga campaign, storming to the title with a record 100 points and 121 goals.Achieved after besting Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona, that season is still heralded as perhaps the best by any side in Spanish soccer history. The memories of those thrills are enough for many to excuse Mourinho of whatever came next, while the tantalizing possibility of repeating the feat meant the “Special One” never really left Florentino Pérez’s mind.But what became of Mourinho’s title winners? Here’s what happened next to the most featured XI from Real Madrid’s 2011–12 La Liga winning campaign. GK: Iker CasillasNo tengo ningún problema con Mourinho. Me parece un gran profesional. No le quiero en el @realmadrid . Creo que otros entrenadores estarían mejor capacitados para entrenar en el club de mi vida. Opinión personal. Nada mas.— Iker Casillas (@IkerCasillas) May 12, 2026Appearances: 37Clean Sheets: 14The legendary goalkeeper left Real Madrid as the club’s second-highest appearance maker of all time in 2015, but not before an infamous falling out with Mourinho during the latter’s ill-fated final season. A regular pundit and ambassador these days since retirement, Iker Casillas came out against Mourinho’s return amid speculation earlier this year, posting on X that he did not “want him at Madrid.” The World Cup winner had been earmarked for a senior role at the club under presidential candidate Enrique Riquelme before Pérez’s re-election.RB: Álvaro ArbeloaÁlvaro Arbeloa’s Real Madrid tenure was brief. | Alex Livesey/Anadolu/Getty ImagesAppearances: 26Goals: 0The right back stayed on at Madrid past Mourinho’s exit, eventually departing in 2016, before finishing his playing career at West Ham.The former Liverpool defender then became a manager and worked his way up at Real Madrid, impressing enough as Under-14s, Under-19s and then B team manager to earn the top job following Xabi Alonso’s mid-season exit last season.Seen as a good club man and steady hand, Álvaro Arbeloa’s dream job quickly turned to a nightmare amid constant in-fighting (sometimes literally) at the club. He will take charge of Premier League Fulham next season.CB: Sergio RamosFrom the field to the boardroom. | Joaquin Corchero/Europa Press/Getty ImagesAppearances: 34Goals: 3One of the most legendary figures in Spanish football history, the 2011–12 title was the third of five Sergio Ramos would win at Real Madrid. Post-Mourinho, he would also go on to play a starring role in four Champions League titles, among a litany of other honors. He also spent time at Paris Saint-Germain, Sevilla and most recently, Monterrey in Mexico last season.While the now 40-year-old has yet to officially announce his retirement from playing, his next steps may be in the boardroom. Earlier this year, Ramos fronted an investment group’s bid to buy a controlling stake in La Liga side Sevilla, though a deal later collapsed.CB: PepePepe featured for Real Madrid Legends earlier this year. | hris Arjoon/Icon Sportswire via Getty ImagesAppearances: 29Goals: 1Ramos’s uncompromising center back partner stayed at Real Madrid for a further five seasons following the title glory under Mourinho, leaving for Besiktas in 2017.Pepe then enjoyed a latter-career renaissance at Porto, where he remained, kicking lumps out of attackers, until the grand old age of 41.Back in May, he turned out for Real Madrid against Barcelona in the Legends Cup in Miami.LB: MarceloMarcelo is one of the most decorated players in club history. | Alexander Hassenstein/UEFA/Getty ImagesAppearances: 32Goals: 3Another whose Real Madrid success did not end with Mourinho, Marcelo would go on to win another three La Liga titles after 2011–12 (seven in total), as well as five Champions Leagues.Wth 25 trophies to his name, only three players (Nacho, Dani Carvajal and Luka Modrić) have won more honors for the club than Marcelo, who left the club in 2022. He spent time at Olympiacos and Fluminense, before retiring in 2024.The Brazilian’s teenage son, Enzo Alves, now plays as a forward in Real Madrid’s academy.CM: Sami KhediraSami Khedira is back at Madrid this season. | Dennis Agyeman/Europa Press via Getty ImagesAppearances: 28Goals: 2While a key member of the midfield during the Mourinho years, Sami Khedira’s influence waned following the signings of Modrić and then Toni Kroos. The German left for Juventus in 2015, later facing his old side in the 2017 Champions League final—which Madrid won 4–1.Khedira has regularly worked as an commentator and analyst since retiring from playing in 2021 and returns to Madrid this season as part of Mourinho’s new coaching staff.CM: Xabi AlonsoXabi Alonso is the new Chelsea manager. | Ayush Kumar/Getty ImagesAppearances: 36Goals: 1Like Khedira, Xabi Alonso stayed on post-Mourinho but found his place in the midfield under threat from new signings. He played a major role in the 2014 Champions League success—though he missed the final through suspension—then left the club for Bayern Munich.Now one of the most successful young coaches of his generation, Alonso led Bayer Leverkusen to a remarkable Bundesliga-winning season in 2023–24, during which the club went unbeaten for the whole season.Appointed Real Madrid manager in 2025, he was unable to replicate his success in Germany and left after just half a season, famously enduring a very public falling out with Vinícius Júnior during El Clásico. He was appointed Chelsea manager ahead of 2026–27.RW: Ángel Di MaríaÁngel Di María is back in Argentina. | Luciano Bisbal/Getty ImagesAppearances: 32Goals: 7Ángel Di María left Madrid for Manchester United in 2014, with the 2011–12 title his only league trophy from four seasons at the Bernabéu.He later excelled at Paris Saint-Germain—he remains the club’s all-time assist provider—and was playing at Benfica until as recently as 2025. Now 38, the man who scored in the 2022 World Cup final can be found back at boyhood club Rosario Central. AM: Mesut ÖzilMesut Özil left Real Madrid for Arsenal. | Marc Atkins/Getty ImagesAppearances: 35Goals: 4Only Lionel Messi registered more assists than Mesut Özil’s 19 in La Liga in 2011–12; the midfielder was central to Madrid’s attacking fluidity that season. The German didn’t have it all easy under Mourinho, however, and later wrote in his book that the manager once called him a “crybaby” and a “coward” during one particularly heated locker room confrontation.He joined Arsenal for a then-club record £42.5 million ($57 million) in 2013 and went on to win three FA Cups. Recently videos of the formerly waif-like attacking midfielder have gone viral for showing his body transformation post-retirement.LW: Cristiano RonaldoRonaldo didn’t enjoy the finest World Cup. | Grzegorz Wajda/SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty ImagesAppearances: 38Goals: 46Cristiano Ronaldo bagged a barely fathomable 60 goals in the 2011–12 season—a total he has only bested once since, in 2014–15.Four of the Portuguese superstar’s five Ballon d’Or awards came after Mourinho’s lone title triumph, though he could only finish runner-up to Messi in 2012.As of 2026, Ronaldo continues to plunder goals for Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League at age 41. His 2026 World Cup campaign, though, was something of a disappointment. Despite declaring himself “back” after a double against Uzbekistan, the forward struggled in a team built around his aging talents.New Portugal manager Jorge Jesus has left the door open for the world’s most followed man on Instagram to continue with the national team.ST: Karim BenzemaKarim Benzema plies his trade in the Middle East. | STEINSIEK.CH/IMAGOAppearances: 34Goals: 21Sharing duties with Gonzalo Higuaín that season, Karim Benzema scored an impressive 32 times in all competitions. It was a fine response after being compared to a cat (unfavorably) by Mourinho the previous season.The Frenchman’s finest work in a Real Madrid shirt came post-Ronaldo’s exit in 2018, as he thrived as Los Blancos’s main man and eventually took home the 2022 Ballon d’Or.Only Ronaldo (450) has more goals as a Real Madrid player than Benzema (354). Like Ronaldo, Benzema can also be found in Saudi Arabia these days and is contracted to Al Hilal.READ THE LATEST REAL MADRID NEWS, ANALYSIS AND INSIGHT FROM SI FCAdd us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow