Mourinho Addresses Ballon d'Or Debate and Squad Depth Ahead of Málaga Match

Jose Mourinho walked into the media room at Valdebebas with a league game against Málaga on the horizon and a familiar debate waiting for him: the Ballon d'Or. He didn’t dodge it. He went straight through it.

Mourinho redraws the Ballon d'Or debate

"It's very beautiful individually," he said, before immediately reframing the award. For Mourinho, the Ballon d'Or belongs to the players football can never replace.

"For me, the Ballon d'Or has to go to those players who, when they retire, we miss forever. I miss Maradona, Nazario, Messi, Zidane, Matthäus…"

He rejected the idea that a single trophy, even the Champions League or the World Cup, should decide the prize.

"You can't give the Ballon d'Or just because they won the Champions League or the World Cup. If you want to reward the Champions League, give the Ballon d'Or to Luis Enrique. For Spain, De La Fuente certainly deserves it. This is the great tribute."

The distinction was clear: reward the coach for trophies, reward the player for genius.

"Another thing is the best in the world; it doesn't have to be from PSG or Spain. There are two, three, or four, and we know who they are. We know where they are — here. We know who has made history individually this summer."

Then came the sting.

"The Ballon d'Or has politics, and if politics gets involved, I don't like it so much. We already know my concept of the Ballon d'Or. We're not going to invent it in Spain or at PSG. There, it's Luis Enrique or De La Fuente. The best player is someone else."

Squad choices and internal competition

Turning to Málaga, Mourinho underlined the depth at his disposal and the different rhythms within his squad after preseason.

"There are players who, I keep saying, have had different preseason experiences. We have a strong squad with solutions to compensate for these issues."

He gave a concrete example.

"Tomorrow, Cucurella starts, and Álvaro, who played well against Espanyol and Real Sociedad, will be on the bench. If Cucurella runs out of steam, we have Álvaro to come on. It's the kind of solution a squad like this provides a coach."

Rotation, in his mind, is not a problem. It’s a weapon.

Concentration: hotel vs. head

The conversation then shifted to focus and preparation. Mourinho drew a sharp line between physical togetherness and mental sharpness.

"There are two kinds of concentration. The one you're talking about, being together, sleeping in a hotel, in Valdebebas… The one I'm interested in is the one here," he said, pointing to his head.

"It has nothing to do with sleeping in a hotel, it's here. Sometimes I think, and it saddens me, that all you see is warm-ups and rondo drills. In my other job, there's a lot of concentration. This is what interests me."

They will not stay in a hotel as a group, but they will share the key hours.

"We're not sleeping today. The players are together. We have a tactical meeting now, we're eating together. We'll be together a little longer and then we'll see each other in the morning. Espi, Cucurella, and I are sleeping here. The rest are going home."

Diomande’s slow burn

On Yan Diomande, Mourinho cut off any attempt to turn it into an individual saga, but still laid out the reality.

"I'm not going to say anything more about individual players. Diomande arrived late and had a difficult summer because of the decision. He didn't train with Leipzig; when he arrived, he didn't have a foundation to work with, and he's progressing gradually."

The plan is simple: minutes and patience.

"He's already had playing time, which is what he needs to develop. Tomorrow he'll either start or come on as a substitute. He's getting more and more ready."

Bellingham: the complete package

If there was one player he did linger on, it was Jude Bellingham.

"He's unique. Super important for the team. He has different talents: physical, mental, tactical, ball recovery, his goal-scoring ability, his aerial game. He's impressive."

Mourinho admitted he enjoys talking about his stars.

"I really like talking about Kylian, Vini, Jude. I understand the questions. But I'm very happy with everyone. As I said, here we only have great players and truly great players."

Then he pulled it back to the collective.

"The team has to function as a team. Real Madrid fans go to the Bernabéu to see these exceptional players, but they also go to see a team play as a team, suffer as a team, face difficulties as a team, and dominate as a team. I'm the coach of that team, and I really like the players I have."

Castilla, Thiago Pitarch and the pathway up

Mourinho praised the work being done with the club’s second team.

"Arbeloa has done a fantastic job in defense. Up front, the situation is different, and it hasn't been easy. He's done a fantastic job with the players. There isn't a single Castilla player I don't like."

One name, though, is clearly pushing the ceiling.

"Thiago has shown he's no longer fit for the Castilla division. I like him a lot. He's part of this group of 21 players. We have Ciria, Cestero, and two goalkeepers on the bench because we don't have many options. When he's fit, he'll be part of the group and will get playing time."

The message to the youngster came with Mourinho’s typical edge.

"I tell him his leg muscles are the same as mine, and he needs to put on a couple of kilos through hard work."

Freedom in the final third

Mourinho was open about how much his attackers can improvise within a structured framework.

"When you have players of incredible quality, they make the coach look like a phenomenon. They do things that go beyond the everyday routine."

Training, though, remains rigorous.

"We work on defense and attack. Today, the entire 45 minutes of training were dedicated to offensive organization. We worked on tactical formations and movement."

The balance is clear: structure first, then genius.

"When things get tough, they win matches. We have to give them space for creativity and for their ability to make decisions. We have to be organized. We're improving in that area."

Endrick, Tchouameni and the injury calendar

On Endrick and Aurélien Tchouameni, Mourinho’s tone shifted to caution.

"[Endrick] is the closest to returning. I don't want to take any risks with Betis. Like I said, he could be ready for Betis or for the first Champions League match."

Tchouameni’s case is more delicate.

"The other situations are more complicated. With Tchouameni, we have to keep our emotions in check. I don't want him to be in and out, in and out again. I don't want to start the season in August with a situation like this. I hope to have Tchouameni fit again, and I prefer to wait a little longer."

International break anxiety

The looming international window clearly troubles him.

"International matches worry me. It's a long time. I'm less concerned about players who go with their national teams to play than those who are selected but don't play. Those are the ones I worry about the most."

His relationship with Carlo Ancelotti offers some reassurance.

"My relationship with Carlo means I'm aware of the situation, and we'll exchange information. With Carlo, it won't be a problem. With others, where we don't have this level of trust, having players away for three weeks is very complicated."

He knows the risks and can’t control them.

"We're going to have faith in the professionalism of those coaches, in the respect they have for the players and the clubs. I don't want to dramatize it. Often, there are injuries while on international duty, and then when they return to their clubs, they lose the balance of the work they'd been doing for weeks, and then the injury happens. It is what it is, and there's nothing we can do about it."

Managing people, managing tactics

Asked whether group management or tactics is harder, Mourinho brushed away the idea of difficulty.

"I don't feel that anything is difficult. I see it as natural. Problems are a natural part of life. We haven't had our first problem yet, but it's going to come. Whether it's tactical or related to team management, it's normal for it to happen. You have to see it as a natural occurrence and manage it as a natural one."

Respect for Ancelotti

On Ancelotti himself, there was only admiration.

"Ancelotti is a great man in every way. He doesn't have a weak point. He's a great man at every level."

Lineup leaks and tactical surprises

Finally, Mourinho addressed the issue of his starting XI potentially leaking before Málaga.

"If we go into tomorrow's match and the opposition doesn't know our lineup until an hour and a half before kickoff, I prefer that. But if our lineup starts today, it's not a big deal."

The real problem, he explained, would be if the leak exposed a major tactical shift.

"The worrying thing is when you make a lot of structural changes. If we played with three centre-backs, with Espi and Kylian together. If we do something that's outside of what the Málaga manager might expect, then yes, it's a concern."

Individual choices, like full-back rotations, don’t keep him up at night.

"But the difference between Carreras and Cucurella isn't a big deal. The positive feeling about him not starting is that nobody has spoken about it. Not the players, not the kit men, not the doctors… But if he does start, it's not a big deal."

The message, on the eve of Málaga, was unmistakable: the noise can swirl around Ballon d'Or politics, injuries, and leaks, but inside Mourinho’s Real Madrid, the focus stays where he pointed — in the head.