has come out swinging for Kylian Mbappe, calling the fuss over a Paris nightclub visit and a Switzerland break “ridiculous” and confirming the France forward will start Real Madrid’s La Liga clash with Villarreal at the Bernabeu. The manager used Friday’s press conference to say the scrutiny had nothing to do with how his squad actually trained and recovered during the international break.
The striker picked up an injury on 25 September in his first game back with France. Criticism followed after he was photographed going into a venue in Paris and later spent time in Switzerland, where social-media clips showed him on a bicycle. Jose Mourinho had already told players to stay off bikes while they were recovering. A similar row broke out late last season, when Mbappe was pictured on a yacht during a title run-in.
Mourinho said the questions missed the real issues in the game. “it’s ridiculous. I thought there were enough real ‘cases’ in the football world in the last few weeks, but it seems like they weren’t enough.
“There are giant cases like the [Manchester City] one, like the old story you don’t like to talk about [Negreira], like the difficult situation in my country with and his coach.
“But it hasn’t been enough. Real Madrid is Real Madrid. I thought the first question might be about real things, a difficult game… But here we are.”
The coach said injured players reported to the club, were assessed, and followed a set rehab plan. “I don’t lie. The truth is that in this period, Real Madrid’s players have been exemplary in their professional situation. Those who were injured came straight to Valdebebas, got their diagnosis, and got their rehab plan.
“Mbappe was here, he got his diagnosis, he went to an external consultant – because his knee has a history that you can’t forget – and there was total agreement with Real Madrid’s diagnosis and this external consultant. In terms of his recovery, you don’t have to know all the details. But then we get into the area of looking for problems.”
He also tried to take the heat out of the two trips. “[In Paris] it was a club that wasn’t a club. It was a club that had been transformed for a private event. Then in Switzerland, it was just a hotel, with little houses, and each house had some bikes to get to where the restaurants and spa was. It was absolute tranquility.”
has scored heavily across two seasons in Spain and is still in the Ballon d’Or picture after his World Cup displays for France. He has not yet won a major trophy with Real Madrid. Mourinho suggested the coverage was built to turn the crowd on him.
“You don’t have to be Einstein to see that this is the objective,” he said. “I hope the Bernabeu can be fair, and that means being intelligent, being able to read between the lines.”
He closed with a clear line on standards. “One thing I promise is that when a Real Madrid player doesn’t behave like a player, they won’t see that player on the bench. They won’t have the chance to whistle, because they’ll be at home. So tomorrow Mbappé will play. He won’t be on the bench, and if he plays, it’s because I’m sure that he hasn’t failed Real Madrid. He hasn’t failed to fulfil his obligations.”
