Mourinho Backs Mbappé, Vinicius, Bellingham To Shine Together At Real Madrid

New Real Madrid coach José Mourinho has backed Kylian Mbappé, Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham to play together successfully as Los Blancos prepare to open their La Liga campaign away to Espanyol.

The Portuguese coach faces the challenge of getting the best out of Madrid’s three biggest stars while finding the right balance between attack and defence.

Carlo Ancelotti, Xabi Alonso and Álvaro Arbeloa all struggled to settle on a system that consistently brought the best out of Mbappé, Vinicius and Bellingham.

Madrid won the Champions League in 2024 with Bellingham and Vinicius playing key roles, but the arrival of Mbappé that summer has coincided with two trophyless seasons for the Spanish giants.

Mourinho, however, believes the trio can flourish together.

“They are incredible players and incredible players want to play with incredible players,” Mourinho told reporters earlier today, August 21.

“Tactically, it could be tricky. Ancelotti has found a set-up with Brazil perfect for Vini; (Didier) Deschamps has found one with France perfect for Kylian; (Thomas) Tuchel has one perfect for Jude; it’s harder for Mourinho to do it for the three of them.

“We’re on it. I want the three, when all three play, to feel comfortable on the pitch. They are three players of great quality.

“They don’t play in incompatible positions. We will have a great season with them.”

Naija News reports that Mourinho has returned to the Santiago Bernabéu for a second spell after first managing Real Madrid between 2010 and 2013. As he prepares for his first competitive game back in charge, the 63-year-old has warned his star players that they must also fulfil their defensive duties.

“We have to defend with 11 players,” Mourinho said.

“If a team is pushing us back and giving us problems in our final third, we all have to defend.”

The Portuguese also expects competition for places to test the harmony within his squad as players battle for a place in his starting XI.

“There will be moments of frustration, because of results or personal frustration,” Mourinho said.

“I told the players tomorrow there will come a moment of frustration for many of them because it will be the first time that I have to pick one as a starter and the other goes to the bench and feels frustrated. They have to digest that individually and as a group.

“I’m here to help them, but I can’t start a game with 15 players; only 11 can play. I hope each game is difficult for me, because they keep working the way they are working.

“The day that one lowers his level because of frustration, decisions will be easy for me. I want hard decisions. The team needs to know how to navigate moments of frustration.”

Mourinho also sought to draw a line under concerns about the dressing room following Madrid’s troubled previous campaign.

A reported confrontation between Aurélien Tchouaméni and Fede Valverde last season ended with the latter receiving hospital treatment, but Mourinho said he had found no signs of lingering tension between the pair.

“I’ve decided to start from zero. There was no need to speak to Tchouaméni. Seeing how they’re getting on, you can’t even imagine what happened last season,” he said.

“They practically told me there was no need to speak about it, that I didn’t have to try and have an influence to bring peace.

“From what I’ve seen,n it’s not even about peace; it’s normality, friendship, and it’s like nothing happened.”

Mourinho said he feels excitement rather than pressure as he prepares for his second debut as Real Madrid coach against Espanyol at 8:30 p.m. on Saturday, August 22.

“I wouldn’t call it pressure, I’d call it adrenaline. It’s a positive feeling,” Mourinho added.

“The day I don’t feel it, something’s not right.”