José Mourinho has spoken about his managerial philosophy, warning of the importance of trust between players and coach — and “non-negotiable” rules for his squad to follow — as he looks to build a new winning team at Real Madrid.
Veteran coach Mourinho returned to the Bernabéu this summer — 13 years after he was last in charge — after Madrid went two years without landing a major trophy, and fired two coaches, Xabi Alonso and Álvaro Arbeloa, last season.
He’s had a tricky start to life back in Spain, though, with Madrid already six points behind LaLiga leaders Barcelona and having lost last weekend’s derby to Atletico.
“Don’t betray me,” Mourinho told the Bet It Drives Show, when asked about trust and management. “When I say don’t betray me, of course, I’m speaking about football. Don’t betray me, and I’ll always be there for you.”
Mourinho has had a reputation as a strict disciplinarian, but has claimed he’s now more “calm” at this stage of his career.
“There are rules that are not negotiable,” Mourinho said. “If you report at 9 a.m., it’s 9 a.m. for everybody. If you arrive at 9.15, even if you’re a superstar, you just can’t. I don’t accept it … But another thing is giving them freedom to express themselves.”
Madrid’s 2025-26 season was disrupted by a number of off-field issues with critics citing a lack of training-ground discipline, including a clash between Aurélien Tchouaméni and Federico Valverde which saw the latter hospitalised.
“You are a football player 24 hours a day,” Mourinho said. “Everything reflects the job. What you eat, what you drink, how you sleep, even things in your private life. You cannot ski. You cannot ride a bike.
“You fall off your bike, and you don’t play three matches maybe, or maybe worse, maybe you break a leg … There are a lot of things you have to give up to be a football player. If you feel it’s a hobby, you’re dead. There’s always a relationship between what you achieve and what you give up.”
Mourinho also discussed the process behind his surprise return to Madrid, where he had a successful, but turbulent, first spell.
“After two seasons where the biggest club in the world didn’t have the best results and a little ‘divorce’ with the fans, the club contacted me,” he said. “They told me ‘We know you. You know us. You know the club, you know the culture.
“We need you. We need you to rebuild. We need you to start again an amazing decade that the club had. We need a person with your profile.’”
