Mourinho Discusses Ballon d'Or and Squad Dynamics Ahead of Málaga Match

Jose Mourinho walked into the media room at Valdebebas with a league game against Málaga on the horizon and a familiar debate waiting for him: the Ballon d’Or. He didn’t dodge it. He went straight through it.

Mourinho redraws the Ballon d’Or debate

For Mourinho, the award has lost its compass.

"It's very beautiful individually. You enter into the individual history of a particular player," he began, before quickly reframing what it should really mean. "For me, the Ballon d'Or has to go to those players who, when they retire, we miss forever. I miss Maradona, Nazario, Messi, Zidane, Matthäus…"

He dismissed the idea that the prize should simply follow trophies.

"You can't give the Ballon d'Or just because they won the Champions League or the World Cup. If you want to reward the Champions League, give the Ballon d'Or to Luis Enrique. For Spain, De La Fuente certainly deserves it. This is the great tribute."

Then came the line that will echo around Madrid.

"Another thing is the best in the world; it doesn't have to be from PSG or Spain. There are two, three, or four, and we know who they are. We know where they are — here. We know who has made history individually this summer."

He didn’t name names. He didn’t need to. The message was clear: the game’s elite, in his eyes, are sitting in his own dressing room.

"The Ballon d'Or has politics, and if politics gets involved, I don't like it so much. We already know my concept of the Ballon d'Or. We're not going to invent it in Spain or at PSG. There, it's Luis Enrique or De La Fuente. The best player is someone else."

Squad decisions and Cucurella’s chance

Attention then moved to Málaga and the state of his squad. Mourinho underlined the different rhythms in his group after a fragmented preseason, but he sounded calm.

"There are players who, I keep saying, have had different preseason experiences. We have a strong squad with solutions to compensate for these issues."

He illustrated it with a concrete decision.

"Tomorrow, Cucurella starts, and Álvaro, who played well against Espanyol and Real Sociedad, will be on the bench. If Cucurella runs out of steam, we have Álvaro to come on. It's the kind of solution a squad like this provides a coach."

No drama, just rotation backed by depth.

Concentration: hotel vs. head

Mourinho then took aim at a more intangible subject: concentration. Not the kind you can photograph.

"There are two kinds of concentration. The one you're talking about, being together, sleeping in a hotel, in Valdebebas… The one I'm interested in is the one here," he said, pointing to his head.

"It has nothing to do with sleeping in a hotel, it's here. Sometimes I think, and it saddens me, that all you see is warm-ups and rondo drills. In my other job, there's a lot of concentration. This is what interests me."

The team won’t be in full hotel lockdown this time.

"Sleeping or not sleeping, it depends. We're not sleeping today. The players are together. We have a tactical meeting now, we're eating together. We'll be together a little longer and then we'll see each other in the morning. Espi, Cucurella, and I are sleeping here. The rest are going home."

Diomande’s slow build

On Yan Diomande, Mourinho shut down any hint of individual scrutiny but still mapped out the player’s situation.

"I'm not going to say anything more about individual players. Diomande arrived late and had a difficult summer because of the decision. He didn't train with Leipzig; when he arrived, he didn't have a foundation to work with, and he's progressing gradually."

The plan is simple: minutes, then more minutes.

"He's already had playing time, which is what he needs to develop. Tomorrow he'll either start or come on as a substitute. He's getting more and more ready."

Bellingham: the complete package

Jude Bellingham’s name inevitably came up, and Mourinho’s response was emphatic.

"He's unique. Super important for the team. He has different talents: physical, mental, tactical, ball recovery, his goal-scoring ability, his aerial game. He's impressive."

He enjoys talking about his stars, and he didn’t hide it.

"I really like talking about Kylian, Vini, Jude. I understand the questions. But I'm very happy with everyone. As I said, here we only have great players and truly great players."

The message, though, circled back to the collective.

"The team has to function as a team. Real Madrid fans go to the Bernabéu to see these exceptional players, but they also go to see a team play as a team, suffer as a team, face difficulties as a team, and dominate as a team. I'm the coach of that team, and I really like the players I have."

Castilla, Thiago Pitarch and the pathway

Mourinho also praised the work being done just below first-team level, singling out Arbeloa and one of the young forwards.

"Arbeloa has done a fantastic job in defense. Up front, the situation is different, and it hasn't been easy. He's done a fantastic job with the players. There isn't a single Castilla player I don't like."

Thiago Pitarch, in particular, has caught his eye.

"Thiago has shown he's no longer fit for the Castilla division. I like him a lot. He's part of this group of 21 players. We have Ciria, Cestero, and two goalkeepers on the bench because we don't have many options. When he's fit, he'll be part of the group and will get playing time."

Mourinho even allowed himself a joke with a serious edge.

"I tell him his leg muscles are the same as mine, and he needs to put on a couple of kilos through hard work."

Freedom for the forwards

When the conversation shifted to his attacking unit, Mourinho described the balance between structure and instinct.

"When you have players of incredible quality, they make the coach look like a phenomenon. They do things that go beyond the everyday routine."

The work, though, is meticulous.

"We work on defense and attack. Today, the entire 45 minutes of training were dedicated to offensive organization. We worked on tactical formations and movement. When things get tough, they win matches."

The key is to give them a framework without chaining them down.

"We have to give them space for creativity and for their ability to make decisions. We have to be organized. We're improving in that area."

Endrick, Tchouameni and caution with injuries

On the injury front, Endrick is closest to returning, but Mourinho refuses to rush.

"[Endrick] is the closest to returning. I don't want to take any risks with Betis. Like I said, he could be ready for Betis or for the first Champions League match."

The outlook for Tchouameni is more delicate.

"The other situations are more complicated. With Tchouameni, we have to keep our emotions in check. I don't want him to be in and out, in and out again. I don't want to start the season in August with a situation like this. I hope to have Tchouameni fit again, and I prefer to wait a little longer."

International break anxiety

The looming international break clearly sits uneasily with him.

"International matches worry me. It's a long time. I'm less concerned about players who go with their national teams to play than those who are selected but don't play. Those are the ones I worry about the most."

His relationship with Carlo Ancelotti offers some reassurance.

"My relationship with Carlo means I'm aware of the situation, and we'll exchange information. With Carlo, it won't be a problem. With others, where we don't have this level of trust, having players away for three weeks is very complicated."

He knows the pattern all too well.

"We're going to have faith in the professionalism of those coaches, in the respect they have for the players and the clubs. I don't want to dramatize it. Often, there are injuries while on international duty, and then when they return to their clubs, they lose the balance of the work they'd been doing for weeks, and then the injury happens. It is what it is, and there's nothing we can do about it."

Managing people, managing tactics

Asked whether man-management or tactical work is harder, Mourinho brushed aside the idea of difficulty.

"I don't feel that anything is difficult. I see it as natural. Problems are a natural part of life. We haven't had our first problem yet, but it's going to come. Whether it's tactical or related to team management, it's normal for it to happen. You have to see it as a natural occurrence and manage it as a natural one."

Respect for Ancelotti

On Ancelotti himself, there was only admiration.

"Ancelotti is a great man in every way. He doesn't have a weak point. He's a great man at every level."

Lineup leaks and tactical surprises

Finally, the old topic of lineups being leaked surfaced. Mourinho was pragmatic.

"If we go into tomorrow's match and the opposition doesn't know our lineup until an hour and a half before kickoff, I prefer that. But if our lineup starts today, it's not a big deal."

The real issue, he stressed, comes when the element of surprise is tactical, not just about names.

"The worrying thing is when you make a lot of structural changes. If we played with three centre-backs, with Espi and Kylian together. If we do something that's outside of what the Málaga manager might expect, then yes, it's a concern. But the difference between Carreras and Cucurella isn't a big deal."

He even found a positive in the apparent secrecy around one selection.

"The positive feeling about him not starting is that nobody has spoken about it. Not the players, not the kit men, not the doctors… But if he does start, it's not a big deal."

On the eve of Málaga, Mourinho has his squad rotating, his stars praised, his doubts about politics in awards laid bare, and his standards for concentration set high. The next question is simple: will the team on the pitch match the clarity of the man in the press room?