Jose Mourinho has drawn a line with Kylian Mbappé in private. Over breakfast on Tuesday at Valdebebas, the Real Madrid manager relayed a short message to his forward.
“Outside I will defend you, here I won’t.”
The exchange was reported by journalist Pipi Estrada on Spanish talk show El Chiringuito. Mourinho returned to the Real Madrid dugout in July on a three-year contract, 13 years after his first spell ended.
Mbappé’s international break gave the dressing room plenty to debate. He scored the only goal in France’s 1-0 Nations League win in Turkey on 25 September before limping off with what Real Madrid diagnosed as a posterior capsule hyperextension of his left knee, with recovery estimated at several weeks.
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With the club’s blessing, the forward then flew to Paris for what the medical staff treated as an authorised period of active rest. He turned up at a Paris nightclub alongside Spanish actress Ester Expósito, and days later posted a video of himself cycling in Switzerland.
The bicycle Mourinho had warned against
The cycling clip landed roughly ten days after Mourinho had told reporters which activities were off-limits.
“A footballer cannot go skiing in the mountains, cannot ride a bicycle. You fall off a bicycle and maybe you miss three matches,” Mourinho said.
He went further in setting out his code.
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“I don’t care about the contract, I care about the way you view your job.”
“A Real Madrid player is one 24 hours a day, seven days a week and 12 months a year.”
‘Losing the affection of Madridismo’
Within the club, no displeasure has been reported from the dressing room, and the coaching staff and medical team were kept informed throughout. The Paris trip was treated as consensual time off during the international window.
Fan sentiment on television has been colder. On El Chiringuito, presenter Josep Pedrerol said Mbappé was “losing the affection of Madridismo”, a reading echoed by voices unhappy at how the Bernabéu’s highest-profile signing has started the season.
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Building towards the Clásico
Mbappé’s next scheduled match is at home to Villarreal on 10 October, though Mourinho is leaning towards caution rather than a rushed return. The medical team will not clear the forward until he is pain-free, and the fixture the coaching staff is building towards is El Clásico at the Bernabéu on 25 October.
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