Yamal’s prediction had the comfort of being made long before it was tested. In Spain’s World Cup base camp at the end of June, the Barcelona forward told COPE: “I told him he’s going to start the first game and be a substitute in the second because I’m going to eat him alive!”

The first Clasico of the season came on Sunday 25 October at Camp Nou. Real Madrid won 2-1 with a Kylian Mbappe brace, and Cucurella, playing against the ground where he came through as a youth, kept Yamal subdued on the Barcelona right.

Almost a fortnight later, he returned to the same station that had broadcast Yamal’s taunt and offered his version of events.

“I have nothing to say. I don’t like talking much or boasting, and I prefer to stay silent and do my job,” Cucurella told COPE’s El Partidazo, as reported by Yardbarker.

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He said there had been no exchange with Yamal at the final whistle and no plan to engage in one now.

Cucurella expects more pain from Yamal

For all the restraint, Cucurella was clear that one Clasico settles very little. He told the station that the pair would meet in many more fixtures, and that there would be nights to come when Yamal would get the better of him and collect the praise that goes with it.

The former Chelsea defender joined Real Madrid in the summer, with Goal reporting the deal at £47.5m plus £4m in add-ons on a six-year contract. His debut Clasico, by his own measure, was one he was simply pleased to have played well.

Mourinho’s five-minute team talks

The second strand of the interview was Cucurella’s first assessment of life under Jose Mourinho, who returned to Real Madrid as head coach in the summer on a two-year deal with an option for a third. Cucurella said the Portuguese he found in the dressing room is not quite the one he had imagined from the outside.

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He told the station, per Africa Soccer, that Mourinho has been close to the squad, warm in person and happy to talk at length when he wants to, but that his actual team talks run short and precise.

“He doesn’t need to give lectures for half an hour; in five minutes he tells you everything you need to know,” Cucurella said.

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