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Jose Mourinho insists he feels no additional pressure to win the Champions League in his second tenure as Real Madrid manager, speaking prior to Tuesday’s opening fixture against Serie A champions Inter Milan at the Santiago Bernabeu.
The European title remains the sole piece of silverware that eluded Mourinho during his initial period in charge at the club.
“No, it is two different spells,” Mourinho responded when asked if he felt he owed the Spanish giants a Champions League trophy. “When I left in 2013, we won what we won and lost what we lost, and we gave it our all. And that was that. What I need to do now has nothing to do with the past.”
“Back in 2010, we weren’t even reaching the quarter-finals of the Champions League and it had been ages since we’d played in a semi-final. Now we’ve won six Champions Leagues in a little over a decade.”
Attention now shifts to how Real respond following the first setback of Mourinho’s second stint, having suffered a 1-0 defeat away to Real Betis in La Liga on Friday.
Kylian Mbappe appeared unimpressed by questions about the dressing room environment (Reuters)
“We want to win every match, every competition,” he said. But you have to work to accomplish stability. Stability. Stability. Structure…
“So Real Madrid need to reach that stability that is so important to achieve something great. But Real Madrid are Real Madrid, you need to win here no matter what.”
Mourinho spoke extensively prior to a far more uncomfortable media session involving Kylian Mbappe. The French forward was repeatedly queried regarding his relationship with Vinicius Jr and the overall mood inside the Real dressing room.
“What does an improvement in the dressing room mean?” Mbappe said when asked if there had been a change from last season.
“Do you have the feeling that something wasn’t right last year? No, it’s the same as last year. It’s true we have a different coach, but it’s the same.”
The 15-times European champions are aiming to secure the Champions League for the first time since 2024, under significant expectation to deliver after enduring two seasons without a major trophy, a period that has coincided with Mbappe’s arrival in Madrid.