José Mourinho has thrown his weight behind Kylian Mbappé amid the storm surrounding the Frenchman's private life, arguing that the coverage has lost all sense of proportion. The Real Madrid manager also accused the media of chasing crises while far bigger stories go ignored across the game.
Mourinho made the comments at a press conference on Friday, ahead of Saturday's La Liga clash with Villarreal, when asked about the furore over Mbappé and whether the scrutiny of his private life had gone too far. There has even been talk of a possible backlash from supporters at the Santiago Bernabéu during the match.
As reported by Spanish newspaper "AS", Mourinho said: "If an angry reaction happens from Real Madrid supporters against Mbappé, it would be a great victory for you (the media)."
He added: "Huge matters, such as the Manchester City case, or the old story you love to talk about, or the difficult situation in my country with Cristiano Ronaldo and his coach, were not enough to feed your work. Real Madrid is Real Madrid, and there must always be something to find to talk about."
"What is happening is ridiculous"
Was the uproar over Mbappé excessive? Mourinho didn't hold back: "Excessive? The matter is ridiculous."
On how far the media can go in dissecting players' private lives, he said: "For me, a player is a player 24 hours a day. And anything important or negative he does in his private life always has repercussions. I believe that a player remains a human being, and he has the right to make mistakes, but he must have a sense of responsibility."
He continued: "I have been in Spain for 13 years, and you know me, I do not lie. I may try to dodge a question or deal cleverly with a complicated issue, but I do not lie about anything. If you ask me about the player who will start the match, I will not tell you, but I will not say that he will not play and then include him."
Mourinho responds to the Mbappé rumours
Hitting back at the rumours, Mourinho insisted his squad had stuck rigidly to the plan laid out for them over recent weeks, whether reporting for international duty or taking rest. The injured players, he said, returned swiftly to the training centre at Valdebebas for tests and the start of their recovery programmes.
He said: "Everything was clearly defined, and everyone adhered to it. The injured players attended Valdebebas immediately, underwent tests, and recovery plans were drawn up for them."
Certain players got extra time, he explained. Arda Güler, suspended for the fourth international match, picked up two additional days of rest, while those nursing significant injuries kept reporting to the club daily, among them Fede Valverde and Ibrahima Konaté.
On Mbappé specifically, Mourinho revealed the player had undergone medical tests at the club and also sought a second opinion from an external specialist, given his history of knee trouble. The results, he confirmed, matched the recovery plan drawn up for him.
"This is one of your goals"
Would he understand it if sections of the Bernabéu turned on Mbappé against Villarreal? Mourinho said: "This is one of your goals. You do not need to be Einstein to understand that this is the goal. I do not want to talk about the party I mean, I may be wrong, but it is one of the goals. As for the Bernabéu supporters, I will not comment on their stance, because I respect them."
He went on: "I hope the Bernabéu supporters will be able to be fair. Fairness means being intelligent, reading between the lines, understanding the dynamics, and realising the goals."
Then came a warning. "I assure you that any Real Madrid player who does not behave in a way befitting a Real Madrid player, or fails to perform his duties as a player, or does not adhere to his responsibilities as a player or a citizen, you will not see him on the bench. You will not get the chance to boo him, because he will be at home. I will not give him the chance to sit on the bench."
He was emphatic on the matter. "Mbappé will play, and he will not even be on the bench. I am certain that he has not breached his commitments towards Real Madrid."
"Searching for problems"
The Portuguese tore into what he called the relentless hunt for crises, picking apart several of the stories that have swirled around his players lately.
Take the reports placing Mbappé in a nightclub. Mourinho explained that the venue was in fact hosting a private event during Paris Fashion Week, not a nightclub in any ordinary sense.
Equally absurd, in his view, were the stories about the player riding a bicycle in Switzerland. He said it amounted to nothing more than using bikes to get between the shared facilities of a hotel made up of small units, hardly the cycling race around Switzerland it had been dressed up as.
Dean Huijsen came in for the same treatment. The defender, Mourinho noted, was said to have stopped outside Bitarch's house to send a message, only for the tale to morph into him flying down the motorway at 200 kilometres per hour while on his phone.
There was a brighter note too. For the first time in 10 years, the Portuguese said, Real Madrid have reached mid-October without a single new injury from the current campaign, with the existing problems all carried over from last season.
His parting shot dripped with sarcasm: "This is a good story, but you do not like it."