‘Fed Up’—Jose Mourinho Slams ‘Spoiled’ Cristiano Ronaldo-Era Real Madrid
José Mourinho has labeled his former Real Madrid side “spoiled” and confessed to being “fed up with them” when he left the club after a tumultuous period in 2013.
The 63-year-old, who was re-appointed Real Madrid manager in June, spent three years at the Bernabéu previously, spanning from 2010–2013. He won La Liga and the Copa del Rey during that spell, but, as is often the case with Mourinho, things ended on a sour note.
A fallout with the locker room, most notably captain and club legend Iker Casillas, eventually made his position untenable, and he’s now shed light on his strained relationships with his former players.
In his newly released, self-titled docuseries on Netflix, Mourinho recalled his experiences with the Madrid players during his first spell in Spain’s capital.
Mourinho Bemoans Mentality Problems in Madrid Camp
The Portuguese coach’s feud with Casillas has been well-documented over the years and it was during his first interactions with the goalkeeper where Mourinho realized his players were “being spoiled.”
“The first thing he told me was, ‘I’ve come to ask for more vacation time for the national team players,’” Mourinho reminisced.
“In the second conversation, he asked me to delay training by an hour because there was a lot of traffic in Madrid at the time I wanted to start the session. In the third, he told me they didn’t want to go to the hotel, that they preferred to see each other on matchday and go directly to the stadium.”
He added: “Mentally, they were in a very bad place.”
Casillas further irked Mourinho after a phone call with compatriot Xavi, designed to cool tensions between Real Madrid and Barcelona players during international breaks. That didn’t go down well with the former Chelsea and Manchester United boss.
“This is a Barcelona vs. Real Madrid match. When you’re with the national team, you can kiss each other twice, but not now. This is war,” said Mourinho. “There are things I don’t accept and never will. When someone doesn’t respect me, it becomes a problem.”
Mourinho ‘Wanted to Leave’ Real Madrid
