Mourinho Reveals He Urged Vinicius Not To Leave Real Madrid

Jose Mourinho has revealed that he personally advised Vinicius Jr to reject the chance to leave Real Madrid, telling the Brazilian forward that moving away from the Spanish giants would be “not worth it”.

Vinicius, 26, recently committed his future to Real Madrid by signing a new six-year contract after entering the final year of his previous deal.

The winger had attracted interest from Premier League champions Arsenal during lengthy negotiations over his future, with the possibility of leaving Madrid as a free agent next summer.

Mourinho, who returned for a second spell as Real Madrid manager in June, disclosed his intervention during an interview with Spanish television programme El Chiringuito.

“Vinicius has fallen in love with Real Madrid,” Mourinho said.

“The only thing I told him was: ‘Vini, where do you want to go? You’ve only been in Brazil and you only know Real Madrid. You only understand Real Madrid when you leave. When you leave that’s when you realise what Real Madrid is. Don’t leave. It’s not worth it.’”

Mourinho also spoke about an incident involving Vinicius during a Champions League play-off match between Real Madrid and Benfica last season.

Real players alleged that Benfica forward Gianluca Prestianni racially abused Vinicius, leading to an eight-minute stoppage. Prestianni denied the allegation, while UEFA later handed him a three-match ban, with three matches suspended, for homophobic conduct.

Mourinho, who was managing Benfica at the time, defended Prestianni but said Vinicius now knows where he stands.

“Prestianni was my player. That’s it. There’s no debate,” Mourinho said. “I think Vini now knows what side I am now on and knows he can look me in the eye and rely on me to be on his side.”

The Portuguese manager also revealed that Real Madrid made an offer for Spain captain Rodri before the midfielder joined Barcelona from Manchester City for £65 million.

Mourinho said Rodri’s hesitation over a move made Real Madrid reconsider their interest.

“Rodri had doubts and his doubts made me doubtful,” he said. “The scale of Real Madrid is that you can’t have players here who think twice about coming.”

Mourinho won La Liga, the Copa del Rey and the Spanish Super Cup during his first spell at Real Madrid between 2010 and 2013.

On his return to the club, he said he is now “more controlled, less emotional” but insisted his football philosophy remains unchanged.

“I have the same DNA,” Mourinho added.