Jose Mourinho Happy with Real Madrid Squad Despite Rodri Loss
Jose Mourinho insists he is “very happy” with his Real Madrid squad and considers it complete, even after watching Barcelona swoop in for Rodri.
The Portuguese coach has overseen a sizeable rebuild at the Bernabeu this summer. Six signings have arrived, headlined by record recruit Yan Diomande, with Bernardo Silva and Marc Cucurella also added to a group that has been forced to confront life after Toni Kroos and, soon enough, Luka Modric.
Rodri was supposed to be the missing piece in midfield. Madrid pushed, talks advanced, but the deal collapsed and the Spain international ended up at their greatest rivals. It leaves Silva as the only major reinforcement in the centre of the pitch.
Mourinho, though, is not agitating for more.
“For me the squad is closed, but the market is still open – you never know if a player will come and say ‘I’ve been benched twice and I want to leave,’” he told reporters on Tuesday. “In theory, no [more deals]… but something could always happen… In my head the squad is closed, and I have not asked for anyone. I am very happy with the players I have.”
That conviction will be tested. With Kroos gone in 2024 and Modric set to follow in 2025, Madrid have lost the pair who dictated the rhythm of an era. Control has not come as naturally, and it showed again in their La Liga opener at Espanyol, where they needed a late goal to scrape a 2-1 victory.
Silva started that game in midfield alongside Federico Valverde, a sign of the new order. The shape, though, is still in flux.
Aurelien Tchouameni, earmarked by many as the natural anchor, will not feature against Real Sociedad on Wednesday. Mourinho made it clear the Frenchman is not yet ready.
“He’s got a problem, the holiday time wasn’t enough [for him to recover], seeing the games approaching, the player wanted to try … but we’ve decided that you can’t start a season in suffering,” the coach explained.
“You can finish a season suffering, the last couple of months, but you can’t start in August not at 100 percent. So we decided with him, the staff, the medical department, to get him to return at 100 percent.”
That decision throws even more responsibility onto Valverde. The Uruguayan has been used almost everywhere by previous Madrid coaches – right-back, right wing, box-to-box – but Mourinho’s view is clear.
“For me he is a player for the centre of the pitch,” he said. “Depending on the opponent and our objectives, he might be more set in his position or more mobile.”
It fits with Mourinho’s broader reading of the modern game. The old chalkboard labels, he argued, no longer define what happens when the whistle blows.
“I don’t want to identify Tchouameni as the No. 6, Camavinga No. 6, Fede No. 8, Bernardo No. 10 … things dilute during games.”
Rodri is gone, the market clock is still ticking, and Madrid step into a season without their old metronomes. Mourinho says the squad is closed. La Liga will decide whether it is complete.
