On Friday morning José Mourinho faced the general media as Real Madrid manager with a competitive match in front of him at last. His first pre-match press conference of this second spell was calm, faintly amused and, on the one question that matters at this club, unambiguous. Asked what would make the season a success, he did not reach for a project or a rebuild.
“There are many ways to look at it,” he said, in comments reported by Managing Madrid. “The only way to be pragmatic is to focus on results. We can improve a lot on many levels, build up the structure, and there's a lot that needs to change, but results are what count. Finishing without any trophies at Real Madrid is not a successful season.”
After a 2025-26 campaign that ended with the trophy cabinet untouched for the first time since 2020-21, that is a line drawn under the last twelve months — delivered a day before Los Blancos open LaLiga at Espanyol, kick-off 21:30 Spanish time in Barcelona.
Mourinho on Espanyol: “We're ready for whatever we're going to face”
Espanyol have already won their opening fixture, and Mourinho refused to talk them down.
They're a good side. Teams that have had the same manager for a long time are well-prepared, with established routines and dynamics. … There they are — with three points, three goals scored, none conceded, and the fans are happy. We're ready for whatever we're going to face.
José Mourinho, via Madrid Universal
He was calm about himself too — “I'm fine. I'm calm. One more season” — noting, per Bernabéu Digital, that first official matches have been happening to him for over twenty years. His one flash of impatience was aimed at the summer. “If you ask me whether I'd like another week, yes. But we're fed up with friendlies. We want proper matches.”
Bernabéu Digital also carried the line Madridistas will keep: every point won, Mourinho said, takes the team closer to Cibeles — the square where this club celebrates its titles.
The team news: five absentees reported, Endrick a doubt, Tchouameni not ready
The squad news was less comfortable. Bernabéu Digital report five confirmed absences — Éder Militão, Rodrygo, Raúl Asencio, Ferland Mendy and Thiago Pitarch — with Endrick a doubt after an overload that could cost him his league debut of the season.
Mourinho's own framing was that the long-term problems are exactly that. “The players injured last season have been out for a long time and I don't expect them to be back in two or three weeks,” he said. “The only player missing from this match who wasn't injured last season is Endrick.” On Aurélien Tchouaméni he was careful: “Tchouameni is fine. He has to train today, tomorrow and on Sunday to speed up his recovery. He's arrived in a condition that doesn't allow him to be fit for this match.”
All of it follows from a pre-season split in two: “There are players who've had 36 training sessions and six matches, and others who've played a few matches and had five training sessions.” Hence the week's message about the best available team rather than a best XI.
Mourinho on Diomande: “Words are easy”
The sharpest answer came on Yan Diomande, who told SportyTV he would die for his manager. Mourinho, per Bernabéu Digital, redirected it.
“Without following it word for word, it's an expression I like. I'd prefer he died for the group, for Real Madrid,” he said. “But I know what he means about the working group and the club when he uses my name. Words are easy. It's harder to turn them into actions.” He then widened it out: “Diomande's words are no different from what I see in all of them. The group is growing, it's united. We're not the perfect group — that doesn't exist. But at its base the group is strong.”
A very Mourinho piece of management: accept the devotion, decline the personality cult, hand the standard back to the dressing room. The talking ends on Saturday night, and by his own definition only what this group wins will count.
