Jose Mourinho will tell Real Madrid stars ‘either it’s you guys or it’s me’ – Emmanuel Adebayor

Former Real Madrid striker Emmanuel Adebayor expects Jose Mourinho to confront the club’s hierarchy and dressing room if he believes his authority is being undermined.

Mourinho returned to Real Madrid in June for a second spell in charge, more than a decade after his first tenure at the Spanish giants.

Adebayor worked with the Portuguese during his initial spell at the club, joining on loan from Manchester City in January 2011 and playing alongside Gonzalo Higuain, Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo.

The former Togo international believes Mourinho’s management style could lead to a direct confrontation with the club’s leading players if results and discipline do not improve.

“Knowing Mourinho, I’m pretty sure during this week he will go and see the president and tell him what he wants,” Adebayor told Flashscore.

‘Either I get sacked or I will sack you first’

Adebayor believes Mourinho will make his position clear if he feels he does not have complete control over the squad.

Real Madrid have endured an inconsistent start to the campaign, including a 2-1 defeat to Atletico Madrid in Sunday’s Madrid derby, leaving them six points behind leaders Barcelona.

The former striker expects Mourinho to use the international break to address concerns within the squad and communicate directly with the club’s leadership.

“When they come back from the national break, he will tell them, ‘Either it’s you guys or it’s me. Either I get sacked or I will sack you first.’”

Adebayor also questioned whether Mourinho commands the same level of influence he had during his first spell at the Bernabeu.

The Portuguese arrived at Madrid during his previous tenure with an established reputation for winning major trophies, while the current squad contains several high-profile players, including Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham.

“Mourinho came winning a lot of stuff already into the club. So his ego was bigger than all of us. Don’t get it twisted, Mourinho is my guy, but he has been struggling for the last five, six years.”

Adebayor believes Mourinho’s relationship with the current generation of Madrid stars could therefore present a different challenge from the one he faced during his first spell.

“Coming back to Madrid, his power is not like before anymore. Mbappe will listen because it’s Mourinho, but he will not fully listen.”

The former striker recalled his own experience under Mourinho, when he competed for attacking places alongside Higuain, Benzema and Ronaldo.

“I was playing with Higuain and Benzema and Ronaldo up front at the same time. We had the same kind of ego.”

Adebayor’s assessment comes as Mourinho attempts to restore Madrid’s competitiveness at the top of Spanish and European football, with the derby defeat adding further pressure on the team’s early-season performances.