Mourinho defends Vinicius and says he would have left in his place

José Mourinho has come to the defence of Vinicius Junior. In a press conference, the coach said that in the Brazilian forward's place, he would probably no longer be at Real Madrid, according to Globo, kicker, TuttoMercatoWeb, Onze Mondial, ElDesmarque, 20minutos and Record.

Comments made ahead of a league match

According to TuttoMercatoWeb, José Mourinho expressed his great admiration for Vinicius Junior during the press conference on the eve of the match between Real Madrid and Sevilla. The Portuguese coach notably stated, according to the Italian media outlet: "Io al suo posto me ne sarei andato in estate" ("In his place, I would have left this summer").

Onze Mondial notes that these comments come after Vinicius's match against Roma, which was deemed disastrous. ElDesmarque also mentions the Brazilian's suspension and his poor performance in Rome, as well as Mourinho's responses to Javier Tebas, the winter transfer window, and a change involving Arda Güler, described as an "unfinished product".

A stance shared by several media outlets

The accounts converge on the substance. Globo reports that Mourinho said: "Se fosse eu, provavelmente não estaria aqui" ("If it were me, I probably wouldn't be here"). kicker cites similar remarks: "Wäre ich an Vinicius Stelle, wäre ich wahrscheinlich nicht mehr hier" ("If I were in Vinicius's shoes, I probably wouldn't be here anymore").

20minutos, for its part, headlines: "If I were in his place, I would have forced a departure." Record echoes the same idea: "If I were in Vinicius's place, I probably wouldn't be here."

A notable intervention

These statements by José Mourinho, reported across the media, show his strong support for Vinicius Junior in a difficult context for the Real Madrid forward. The Portuguese coach's remarks were made on the eve of the league match against Sevilla.