Real Madrid Coach Jose Mourinho Speaks On Ballon d’Or, Extended International Break

Real Madrid manager, Jose Mourinho, has weighed in on the Ballon d’Or debate, insisting the award should recognise players who leave a lasting impact on football rather than simply go to those who win the biggest trophies.

Mourinho said winning the Champions League or the World Cup should not automatically make a player the favourite for the individual prize.

“For me, the Ballon d’Or has to be one of those players that when he finishes playing, we miss for eternity,” Mourinho said.

“I miss Maradona, Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, Cristiano, Messi, Zizou, Lothar Matthaus – I miss these people.”

The Portuguese coach admitted that several top players can realistically compete for the award, including some of his own Real Madrid stars.

“It’s a very beautiful thing individually, and that enters into the individual history of a certain player,” he said.

“I think it’s normal that there are a dozen players of a very high level, of which we have three or four. Normally, it exists as an ambition.”

However, Mourinho believes the Ballon d’Or should not simply follow major team success.

“You can’t give the Ballon d’Or to a player because he won the Champions League or because he won the World Cup. It doesn’t have to be from Paris Saint-Germain or the Spanish national team.”

Mourinho raises concern over three-week international break

Mourinho also raised concerns about the extended international break scheduled for September and early October, which will leave clubs without several players for three weeks.

“The international break does concern me,” Mourinho said. “It’s a lot of time.”

The first international window of the 2026-2027 men’s football season will run for three weeks, with FIFA scrapping the traditional October break. Countries will play four international matches during the extended window instead of the usual two.

Mourinho said he was particularly worried about players who join their national teams but spend little time on the pitch.

“Players who will join their national teams to play don’t worry me as much. It’s the ones who join the national teams and are not really involved that concern me,” he said.

“We’ll see how we can go about this and work with the rest of the players. But not having players at my disposal for three weeks is a difficult situation.”

The change comes after the 2026 World Cup, which ended on July 19, the latest end to a summer World Cup since 1966. FIFA also considered player welfare and travel demands when it reshaped the international calendar.

Mourinho fears the extended break could increase injuries, particularly when players return to their clubs.

“I totally respect the players’ decisions, and I don’t want to dramatise too much, but very often they pick up injuries during those breaks and right after returning from an international break,” he explained.

“So it does worry me, but this is the way these things are, and we can’t do much about it.”

The Real Madrid boss has already spoken about managing the workload of players such as Jude Bellingham, Marc Cucurella and Kylian Mbappe following their demanding summer.

He also praised Bellingham ahead of Real Madrid’s La Liga clash with Malaga, highlighting the England midfielder’s importance beyond his attacking statistics.

“He is a unique kind of player, extremely important for the team,” Mourinho said.

“His mental strength, tactical ability, the way he recovers the ball, the way he pressures, the way he plays up front.

“We like talking about Kylian, Vini [Vinicius Jr] and Jude, but I’m really happy with all the players.

“We have great, great players here.”