A matter consigned to history
Jose Mourinho faced the media this morning ahead of Real Madrid’s first La Liga match of the season, away to Espanyol. Among the issues put to him was the bust-up between Aurelien Tchouameni and Federico Valverde, one of the most talked-about flashpoints of last season at the Bernabeu.
The Portuguese moved quickly to draw a line under it. In his view, the issue no longer exists in the dressing room. He says he has not needed to set up any talks between the two players since taking over in Madrid.
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“I have not needed to speak to Tchouameni”
“I arrived with a lot of information. I had been here for three years, I have my contacts, just like you do in the press. I learned a lot of things, not just the Tchouameni-Federico issue,” he explained at his news conference.
Mourinho went on. “I decided to start from zero, of course from a privileged position. I have not needed to speak to Tchouameni. I saw that everything was normal. Without even knowing about the problem, when I see how they interact, you can’t even imagine what happened last season.”
The head coach even says he was advised not to get involved. “They told me I should not step in, that I should not try to force harmony back into place. It is not about harmony, it is about normality, friendship, cooperation. It is as if nothing happened.”
A return built on three years of contacts
The mention of three years is no throwaway line. Mourinho had already managed Real Madrid for three seasons at the start of the 2010s. He is back in a club he knows well, along with its codes, its internal channels and the way it likes to do business.
That knowledge is part of his case here: he says he judged the situation himself rather than swallowing the version handed to him. Tonight’s trip to Espanyol will show whether the pitch backs up that verdict.
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