Mourinho: “This Real Madrid is united and very promising”

VALENCIA, SPAIN - NOVEMBER 07: Jose Mourinho, head coach of Real Madrid, gestures during the Spanish League, LaLiga EA Sports, football match played between Valencia CF and Real Madrid CF at Mestalla Stadium on November 07, 2026, in Valencia, Spain. (Photo By Irina R. Hipolito/Europa Press via Getty Images) | Europa Press via Getty Images Real Madrid coach José Mourinho spoke after a comfortable 3-0 win over Valencia at Mestalla on Saturday night and praised the team’s defensive work, saying: “It’s them, it’s them. The credit goes to them; the credit goes to the players. I can’t pinpoint anything in my work that’s the key to them performing like this. I just do my job as usual, and they’re responding individually as a team; they’re responding spectacularly. There’s been a huge improvement, but I think the fact that we had so much possession today and didn’t have to do much defensive work also helps. But it’s also worth noting that whenever we’ve lost the ball, we’ve always reacted brilliantly. But regarding what you mentioned, there’s a moment in front of my dugout, in the second half, to be precise, where we lost the ball, Arda Güler was out of position, and Kylian Mbappé sprinted over to close down the space on the right flank. I think this is a good example, but it’s just one example. They show great solidarity, they’re very united and, as I said to Real Madrid Televisión, from my experience this team looks promising.”Mourinho on a message to La Liga“I have to be humble, because they hold the power, and ask that they don’t do the same to us. I don’t mean superhuman, because it is possible to do it, but it’s very difficult. If they want to play that game they play on others, then let them give us a break after this marathon of travel and matches, from Sunday to Saturday, which has been too much. I’ll tell you now that I’m worried, because if they were to keep me and my staff on now, well, we’d have to pay very special attention to helping those people recover. But they’re off on international duty, and with the national team, I can imagine, I’ve never coached a national side, but I can imagine that their coaches want to work, and these players can’t work right now; they need to rest so they can then play for their national teams later on, on Thursday or Friday, or thereabouts. But these players need a great deal of attention during their recovery process.”Mourinho on all-time win percentage in La Liga“It tells me we have to win the next one, because in this life, even the impressive statistics, the ones that actually mean something, people forget, and we don’t live off past statistics; we live in the present, and we have to win the next one. But I had no idea, and obviously it’s a source of pride, because the Spanish league has had so many top managers throughout its history, and to be up there with those figures is a source of pride, but, as I say, the next match is the most important one.”Mourinho on the atmosphere at Mestalla and the tension of the match“Look, Mestalla is all about passion. Valencia, throughout its history, has always been a difficult ground. It’s a stadium that demands a lot from its teams and its players, especially when playing against a Real Madrid side that’s far superior both individually and collectively. I think that heightens the frustration and drives the players towards a style of play that allows them to challenge the result.”Mourinho on the sending-off, Mbappé’s yellow card and the referee’s performance“The good thing for us here is that we’ve remained very calm and haven’t reacted. The situation with the red card, viewed from a distance, seems very clear to me. And then the yellow card here, I’m not sure. I know it’s potentially a goal, it’s potentially a chance to score. I don’t know whether he could have let play continue or not. But also, to be honest, it seemed to me, I could be wrong, I don’t know, but from the bench it seemed to me that the referee did a brilliant job. A brilliant job. Obviously, in a stadium where the crowd are protesting. The Bernabéu is one thing, where people go to the match calmly. Santander and Valencia are quite another. They’re stadiums where people want to play the match and, out of frustration at the result, the crowd protest a bit more, get a bit more heated. But it’s all within the bounds of normality.”Mourinho on the relationship with national team managers and Carlo Ancelotti“I’m not going to say anything. I don’t know if I’ll ever be a national team manager, I really don’t know. But I have a feeling that if I ever do, I’ll be a real pain. I’ll be a real pain for the clubs. I’ll be thinking about myself, I’ll be thinking about my team. That’s the feeling I get. And that’s why I wouldn’t dare ring anyone, even if it were my friend Carlo. But in Carlo’s case, take a good look. The ones going with Carlo are Vinícius Júnior, who needs to play, and Endrick, if Carlo plays him, I’ll be grateful. It’s not Carlo’s side of things that worries me. But I think they, too, wouldn’t want a player to get injured due to overwork. I believe they, too, owe the players this level of professionalism when it comes to helping them recover. Let’s hope we’re in luck.”Mourinho on concerns about the international break“It’s just as I was saying: my only concern is this build-up of fatigue. They’re obviously extremely fatigued. They’re extremely fatigued. They have to be with their national teams on Monday. And on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday they’re still, so to speak, recovering from this muscular fatigue they’re suffering from. I’m not talking about mental fatigue, because those who win don’t suffer from mental fatigue. But physical fatigue, yes, the guys are feeling it. But as I was saying, I have respect for the national team coaches.”Mourinho on eight consecutive wins “What pleases me is precisely what, to use the word you used, ‘chaos’ because we’ve lost this match. We’ve never had chaos. We’ve always remained calm. We’ve understood why we lost this match. We’ve understood where we could improve. We’ve always remained very calm. I’ll always strive to ensure that, in the good times, people stay level-headed. I always tell them that winning matches at a club like Real Madrid shouldn’t lead to wild celebrations. Winning matches at Real Madrid has to be the norm. I see a happy dressing room, with awful music playing really loud, but awful. Yet people are calm because the message is that winning matches is the norm. When we lose, we enter into your chaos, which can then spread to the chaos within the Real Madrid environment, amongst its supporters. But in here, we’re calm, calm.”Mourinho on his possible attendance at the NFL match“I’ll go to the NFL tomorrow if my temperature drops from 40 to 39. I’m absolutely knackered. I’m tired, I’ve got a fever. But if I recover, I’ll go.”Mourinho on incidents at half-time and his conversation with Aguirre“No, no, I left straight away. My friend Aguirre was with me. And it’s a pleasure to tell you what I said to Aguirre after the match. Don’t be sad because my players are much better than yours. And that’s the truth; the problem isn’t Aguirre, who’s a great manager with a wealth of experience, but the fact is that Real Madrid’s players are very good. And managers who have players like mine are closer to winning.”