Real Madrid have confirmed their initial travelling party for their preseason preparations in the United States this summer, with reported Chelsea target Alvaro Morata included but club captain Sergio Ramos staying behind for now.
Senior stars Gareth Bale, Toni Kroos, Marcelo, Isco and Karim Benzema were all on the plane along with Blancos coach Zinedine Zidane, as was Morata, who has been linked with a £62 million move to join the Premier League champions after Manchester United ended their interest in him.
James Rodriguez was absent, though, as he completed a loan move to Bayern Munich on Tuesday, while Cristiano Ronaldo is still on his summer break following his Confederations Cup commitments with Portugal and ahead of a court date in Spain.
Morata will get a glimpse of what might have been as Madrid and United share the same preseason facilities in Los Angeles. Zidane's side land in L.A. on Tuesday and, perhaps awkwardly for Morata, will be training a stone's throw from United, who are also using the facilities at UCLA this summer.
Mourinho's men have been at Drake Stadium since arriving in California, while Champions League winners Madrid will begin training on Wednesday within 200 metres of United at the college's North Athletic Field.
The La Liga and Champions League holders will train ahead of their International Champions Cup schedule in the U.S., including high-profile meetings with United (July 23) in Santa Clara, California; Pep Guardiola's Manchester City (July 26) in Los Angeles; and Ernesto Valverde's Barcelona (July 29) in Miami; as well the MLS All-Star game (Aug. 2) in Chicago.
Zinedine Zidane's men are then back to Europe for another meeting with Mourinho's United in the UEFA Super Cup in Skopje, Macedonia, on Aug. 8, then two more Clasicos against Barcelona in the Supercopa double-header the week before the La Liga season is scheduled, but not yet confirmed, to start on Aug. 19.
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�� First stop: Los Angeles#HalaMadrid pic.twitter.com/w6wKlW8aB0- Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadriden) July 11, 2017
A club statement confirmed the travelling party -- with goalkeeper Luca Zidane among the eight youngsters included.
"Real Madrid begin the 2017-18 pre-season," the statement said. "Twenty six players travel today from the Spanish capital to Los Angeles. During the United States tour, the Whites will come up against Manchester United, Manchester City and Barcelona in the International Champions Cup, and an MLS All-Stars side in a friendly. Four matches to prepare for a season full of new challenges that will start on 8 August with the European Super Cup against Manchester United."
The full Real Madrid squad:
Goalkeepers: Keylor Navas, Kiko Casilla, Ruben Yanez, Luca Zidane
Defenders: Dani Carvajal, Raphael Varane, Nacho, Marcelo, Theo Hernandez, Danilo, Luis Quezada, Alvaro Tejero, Achraf Hakimi, Manu Hernando
Midfielders: Toni Kroos, Casemiro, Luka Modric, Isco, Mateo Kovacic, Oscar, Franchu
Forwards: Karim Benzema, Gareth Bale, Lucas Vazquez, Alvaro Morata, Dani Gomez