A €150m offer for Julian Alvarez may just have been a publicity stunt, but a pursuit of Bayern Munich's Michael Olise was definitely something considered by the Madrid hierarchy until it became clear that the Frenchman wasn't for sale at any price.
West Ham's Mateus Fernandes was another player under serious consideration by Los Blancos, though it would appear that Mourinho's countryman has made it clear that he favours a move to London rivals Tottenham as he feels he would have a better opportunity to develop there.
Real set for Fernandez talks
Whilst disappointing, it has opened the door for Real to open formal talks with one of Mourinho's previous clubs, Chelsea, for the signing of their vice-captain Enzo Fernandez.
The Argentinian had to go public with an apology earlier in the year after he made noises concerning how he could see himself living in Madrid, which was interpreted as a 'come and get me' plea from the player to Real.
It's now understood, too, that after Chelsea's failure to qualify for European football, the midfielder will do everything in his power to push through a switch to the Spanish capital before the start of the new season.
Chelsea hold all the aces
Unfortunately for him, the Blues hold all the aces at this stage.
New Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso is hardly likely to want to sell one of his best players to a club that unceremoniously sacked him during the 2025/26 season, even if he still has the utmost respect for Mourinho, who managed him during his own playing days at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Moreover, Fernandez has a contract until 2032, and Chelsea aren't in dire need of funds either, so they are under no pressure whatsoever to sell him.
The issue remains the player's evident desire to extricate himself and his family from West London, however.
Barcelona title win was last straw
After what was arguably another disappointing campaign for Los Blancos, one that began with Alonso in charge and ended with another ex-Madrid ace at the helm in Alvaro Arbeloa (who also played under Mourinho at the club), changes were always going to be afoot, both in the dugout and on the pitch.
Having Barcelona win the Spanish top-flight title by beating Real in El Clasico, something that's never happened in the history of LaLiga before, had to be the final nail in the coffin as far as Florentino Perez was concerned.
It's abundantly clear why both he and Mourinho would want to acquire Fernandez in order to help wrestle back control in the league, and to hopefully add yet another Champions League to their record, too.
Only Chelsea's main striker Joao Pedro scored more than the marauding midfielders' 15 goals, with the Argentinian also providing seven assists, which put him just behind Pedro Neto (10).
Enzo's 1,026 passes into the final third of the pitch were almost 300 more than the second-placed Chelsea player in this regard (732), whilst his 98 chances created were also the most in the squad.
All round excellence from Enzo
Trevoh Chalobah and Moises Caicedo were the only two players to have attempted more than his 2,850 total passes, whilst Fernandez's 85.89% pass completion was a perfectly acceptable return as well.
200 ball recoveries and attempting 458 one-on-one duels show how comfortable the midfielder is with the physical aspects of the game, and even 72 aerial duels attempted puts him in the top five Chelsea players in this regard.
24 interceptions, 15 headed clearances, and 76 tackles attempted all add to Enzo's ability to control a game and its tempo from the central areas, whilst also breaking forward to supplement the attack as needed.
To lose that sort of contribution would be incredibly difficult for Chelsea to deal with, and even if they were handsomely reimbursed, to be able to buy another player of Enzo's talent could prove to be almost impossible.
All the while Argentina are in the World Cup, things can be put on the back burner, but as soon as the player returns home, things will have to be thrashed out one way or another.
If, ultimately, Enzo does move on, the start to Chelsea's season will already be clouded by his departure, whilst Real will gleefully rub their hands together at the possibility of being able to overhaul eternal rivals Barca once more, thanks to their managerial and squad changes.
Jason Pettigrove has been the features writer for Flashscore since 2025, utilising Opta data to form the basis of his articles. He has previously worked for high profile football clubs, news and media outlets, both in print and digital, and can usually be found watching FC Barcelona when time permits. You can read more of his pieces here.
