José Mourinho explains Real Madrid return and makes bold promise to Mbappé

José Mourinho is back. And while he is still waiting for his first official Real Madrid press conference, set for July 13 when he begins preseason, the Portuguese coach has already offered his first reflections on this second spell in a long interview with Vanity Fair.

He returns with bold promises, including one aimed at Kylian Mbappé. “I’m going to try to help him to be even better‚” he said. But there is also a noticeably calmer tone compared to his more combustible past. “I never wanted to be more important than my players. I don’t think I have ever been, and I don’t want to be,” Mourinho added.

A softer Mourinho returns

Asked what is driving him to take on Real Madrid again, Mourinho was direct.

“I don’t deny I love Real Madrid, and this is the reason I’m going back,” he said.

He also made clear this version of himself is different from the one fans saw during his first spell at the club.

“It’s time to be very calm and to be analyzing and to communicate and to ask questions and to answer questions and to [open a] very fluent and honest dialogue,” Mourinho explained.

Defending his first spell in Madrid

Mourinho also pushed back against long-standing criticism that his original Real Madrid team was too defensive.

“The team that scored the most goals in the history of Spanish football was my Real Madrid,” he said. “How defensive was that team?”

It was a pointed reminder of a tenure that, while controversial, delivered both goals and silverware, even as critics questioned his tactical approach.

What Mourinho thinks of Mbappé

Naturally, attention turned to Mbappé, who arrives at this new Real Madrid era after two seasons that have failed to bring any silverware.

Mourinho admitted he is still forming his own judgment.

“I have to see with my own eyes, because what I know in this moment is what I read in the media, what I watch on TV,” he said. “I need to know the players.”

Still, the admiration was clear.

“He’s a phenomenal player, and I’m going to try to help him to be even better than this,” Mourinho said.

For Real Madrid supporters, that combination of caution and confidence may be the most intriguing sign yet of what this second Mourinho era could look like.

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