Mourinho on Mbappé's criticism: there are people who do not understand football, and our victories anger some | Goal.com

Veröffentlicht am 11 Sep 2026 | Lesezeit: 5 Minuten

Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho leapt to the defence of Kylian Mbappe, then turned his fire on the critics. "Some of them do not understand football, while others do not want to tell the truth," he said.

Mbappe had drawn criticism for shirking his defensive duties, even as Real Madrid beat Inter Milan in the Champions League.

The French striker fired back in a tone some found arrogant. Speaking to L'Equipe, he said: "I think this is not normal, but this is the life of someone who has lived excellence for years."

He added: "It is natural for people to always look at what someone is not doing. When he has been doing it for 10 years, people no longer look at what he does. They know he is capable of doing it. So they always try to look at what he does not do."

Once Mbappe had defended himself, Mourinho insisted the French star was no problem for the team, reaching for a popular Portuguese proverb.

Speaking at a press conference on Friday ahead of the clash with Rayo Vallecano, Mourinho told AS: "I do not talk about those who criticise. I use the same proverb I said about Vinicius. It is a tree that bears a lot, very much fruit, and people usually throw stones at the fruitful tree."

He added: "Mbappe is right in his response to the criticism. A player who scores 40 goals is never a problem for the team. When you succeed in creating friendship and respect... imagine it."

Mourinho went on: "There are things that, as a coach, I value and admire greatly. There are people who talk about football but do not understand it. And there are others who understand it, and it suits them to talk about the things that are not good."

The Portuguese coach continued: "I saw the team in the final minutes (of the Inter Milan match) playing with ten men, defending on the left side with Cucurella, who had run out of energy, and Kylian, who had run out of energy, and I saw that. As a coach, I value this in an amazing way. For me, this kind of behaviour is a joy."

"There are people who understand football as much as I do, and they saw that too, but they do not say it. They then say that we did not defend well, and that we could have conceded three or four goals," he said.

Warming to his theme, Mourinho pressed on: "But they also do not say that we could have scored eight goals. There are matches that are very boring, and perhaps we play some of them. There are matches in the Champions League where the two teams fear each other, no one takes a risk, and people go home with a bad taste."

The "Special One" wrapped up on the subject: "They could have scored four goals, yes, yes, but we could have scored eight. And there are people who understand football like me and do not say that. Why do they not say it? Are you unhappy because we won?"

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Mourinho also revisited the refereeing row over Mbappe's penalty against Real Betis, after the Spanish referees' committee backed the match official's decision not to order a retake.

"This does not surprise me, because there is great protection among the referees. It is very rare, and very difficult, for them to criticise a refereeing decision. The union (among referees) is strength," he said.

Quizzed on possible changes to the side and whether Yan Diomande might feature, Mourinho refused to name his starters for the Vallecano game.

"I do not want to say who will play. I am not going in that direction. I am not thinking about the next three matches, but about tomorrow's match. I want to win," he said.

He added: "But yes, there is room... perhaps not for rotation, but room for new energy. Legs that have a lot of fuel. We worked very hard in Tuesday's match. And we have recovered Camavinga, Bernardo, and Arda."

Pressed further, he explained: "We have a strong group, to give opportunities to legs that have a lot of fuel to play. And for others to get some time to rest. We have three matches in nine days, and Elche after three days... but the focus is on how to win tomorrow."

He concluded: "And within this how, the important thing is that two or three of those who did not take part in the last match can give the team a little more energy."

Asked about Thibaut Courtois and his importance with a year left on his contract, Mourinho said: "He is not worried, and the club is not worried either. There is sympathy, and everyone knows they want the same thing."

He added: "For a goalkeeper, he is still young, and on top of that he decided not to take part in the Nations League with his country's national team, and this allows him to be more focused and to get more rest during the European Union or International Federation periods. Here he is, he put in a great match."

Could Federico Valverde and Aurelien Tchouameni line up together after their well-known bust-up last season, and had he stepped in to smooth things over? Mourinho said: "I did not do anything, they did it. The sympathy that exists within the group, the friendship, winning together, losing together, going to the substitutes' bench angry but supporting your teammates who are on the pitch."

He explained: "Without answering specifically about the situation of Valverde and Tchouameni, the group is great. And in this case, if I did not know anything (about last season's altercation) I would have thought they were close friends."

Laughing, he added: "Of course when Aurelien arrived, I was attentive, because I needed to know whether I should intervene and be the minister of peace, but I did not do anything. They did it."

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