Mourinho insists Real Madrid’s interests come before Vinicius

Jose Mourinho says Real Madrid’s needs will always take priority over Vinicius Junior’s individual interests, insisting he would not weaken the team to benefit one player.

The Real Madrid manager was speaking at a news conference ahead of Saturday’s La Liga match against Valencia on 07 November 2026. His comments were published by Sport.

“Vinicius? Real Madrid is the most important thing,” Mourinho said. “I would never deliberately harm the team for the benefit of a player.”

The Portuguese added that he could have managed the situation differently during the club’s last two Champions League matches, but said he would decide how to use Vinicius once the forward had returned to his usual level and was fully available.

“We could have dealt with it in that way during our last two Champions League matches,” he said. “But when Vinicius returns to his normal condition and becomes available, I will handle his situation according to what I consider appropriate.”

Mourinho said managers had to balance the demands of individual matches with the wider run of fixtures, while also explaining that the match against AEK Athens had provided an opportunity for Vinicius and enabled Arda Guler to rest after experiencing some problems.

“I want the team to think about each match separately, but as a coach I have to consider the sequence of games ahead of us,” Mourinho said. “Certainly, the match against AEK Athens was suitable for Vinicius, and it allowed us to rest a player such as Arda Guler, who was dealing with some problems.”

He said a manager’s responsibility was to help every player reach the highest level possible, whether through different tactical approaches or by changing how the squad was managed.

“The coach must do everything possible to get his players to the highest level they can reach,” Mourinho said. “He must try different strategies, either in the way the team plays or in the way he manages the players, and he must always believe in their abilities.”

Mourinho also argued that a player’s basic quality did not change permanently because of a run of poor performances.

“A bad player will remain a bad player, no matter how hard you try, while a good player will remain a good player despite going through many negative periods,” he said.

He added that Vinicius’ performance against AEK Athens had been judged against exceptionally high expectations.

“If the player who played against AEK Athens had not been Vinicius, but an ordinary player, we would have considered his performance good,” Mourinho said. “He played well, but it was not exceptional. Because the expectation of Vinicius is always that he reproduces the level that knocked me out of the Champions League last season, we have to continue working on every level.”

Mourinho said maintaining Vinicius’ relationship with his team-mates was particularly important, before reiterating that selection decisions would ultimately be based on what was best for Real Madrid.

“One thing is very important to me: his relationship with his team-mates is good, every single one of them,” he said. “When the decisive moment comes, and we have to decide which players will play, the team’s interests must always come before those of any individual player.”