Mourinho jokingly hopes Real Madrid players exit World Cup early for pre-season
Incoming Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho has playfully expressed a wish that his club's players be eliminated early from the ongoing FIFA World Cup, so they can return for pre-season training. Speaking on the Beast Mode On Podcast with Adebayo Akinfenwa, Mourinho was asked what he was looking forward to most at the tournament. With a chuckle, he replied: “You want the truth? I want Real Madrid players to lose and go on holidays. Because I want the guys back in pre-season.”
Mourinho is set to take charge of Real Madrid in July, when the World Cup concludes. Currently, 11 Real Madrid players are participating in the tournament with their national teams: Kylian Mbappe (France), Vinícius Júnior (Brazil), Jude Bellingham (England), Antonio Rüdiger (Germany), Aurélien Tchouaméni (France), Thibaut Courtois (Belgium), Federico Valverde (Uruguay), Endrick (Brazil), David Alaba (Austria) and Arda Güler (Turkey).
The Portuguese coach said he has been skipping most matches so far and plans to start watching from the knockout stages. When asked if any teams had impressed him, Mourinho said: “Some of the matches, after 10 minutes, I switch off (the TV). I don’t like the feeling. For me, the World Cup is the top of the top. I know socially it means a lot for every country. It means that the world is breathing football. One thing is the social side of it. And another is the football side of it. Scores like 7-1 and 5-1 should not be possible (at the World Cup). I think I am going to start watching properly from the knockout stages. Brazil-Morocco was a great game. Other games, I had some nice dinners and some nice sleeps. I didn’t stay awake at 3 am (to watch the matches). No chance!”
Mourinho also shared his thoughts on England’s chances, saying he believes they have the talent to reach the final. He attributed their past failures, particularly in penalty shootouts, to the intense pressure from the media and its influence on fans and players. “I always think England can (go all the way),” he said. “I believe they have more pressure than anybody else in relation to the media. And in the end the media influences the people, the English fans, a lot. They cannot cope with the expectations and the responsibility at the end.”
Addressing speculation that he would overhaul the Real Madrid squad by offloading star players, Mourinho dismissed the idea. “I read a few things where people were saying: ‘José Mourinho is coming here and he’s going to cut some of the top players that supposedly had some problems during the season’. No! I want these players! I want the best players. Now I have to find a way to have a team and not to have problems like, eventually, I don’t know, I’m just reading, that they had in previous seasons. If you have problems with not very good players, that is a big problem. The big players are the big players.”
