Jose Mourinho responds to Real Madrid rumours: "I haven’t had any contact with Madrid"

Jos9 Mourinho has spoken to journalists

Jos9 Mourinho, Benfica’s coach, spoke to the media this Sunday ahead of the match against Braga, corresponding to matchday 33 of the Portuguese league, which will be played on Monday at 20:15. The Eagles are still fighting for second place with Sporting Lisbon and will face a rival that was knocked out in the Europa League semifinals. The SetFAbal native addressed the interest from Real Madrid.

SC Braga: “I think we have the right mentality, the mentality of a team playing two finals. It’s our last home game, which also carries special meaning. Since our opponent played midweek, I believe, by the rules and in fairness, the match was moved to Monday, giving them a fourth day after their Europa League game. We all know how tough it is to play on the third day. Even considering their style of play, they’re a team that has to run more. Without overanalyzing, I think they still need something to secure fourth place, so motivation won’t be lacking.”

Sporting fairness: “I refer to yesterday’s match between Benfica B and Acad9mico. Just analyzing that game explains a lot.”

Real Madrid: “I don’t know what’s being said about my demands, so I can’t answer that question. I want to make something clear: in football, it’s not the professionals who decide if they want to go or not. When something starts—speaking generally—it’s the clubs who show interest and who initiate or not the contacts to try to sign whoever they want. People keep talking about Real Madrid, but I continue to avoid the subject, honestly.

I haven’t had any contact with the president or with anyone important in their structure. And by my own decision, just as I’ve done at other times in my career, especially now at this final stage, I’m not talking to anyone. I haven’t had any contact with Real Madrid and I won’t until the last league match. After that, there’ll be a week where I’ll be free to talk to whoever I think is appropriate, but all the stories that have come out—demands, meetings—are just speculation.”

Tom1s AraFAjo replacing Otamendi: “The captain’s absence is always significant. Whenever he’s been available—and that’s almost always—he’s played. It’s a big loss for a final like this, just as it is with Richard RDos. But Tom1s is fine, he trained without restrictions on Friday and Saturday, and today he’ll return to normal. We’re not worried, the feeling is positive. There’s no point trying to hide what will eventually be known: he’ll play alongside AntF3nio Silva. And as we saw in yesterday’s B team match, Gon7alo Oliveira didn’t play so he could be on the bench and provide the cover we might need.”

No margin for error: “Before the match against Famalic3o I said it might sound contradictory, or even silly, but I think people understood what I meant. That’s how it is, we don’t need to fake our mood, because it’s clear: we have to win. There’s no other option. In Famalic3o, even though we could have dropped two points, it was still possible to depend on ourselves, but we went in with the right mentality—sixty fantastic minutes with quality, intensity, and ambition. Then other factors came into play and we ended up drawing.

The attitude was right, it’s been a long week of work, but a good one. We have important absences, but there are players waiting for their chance and they’ll step up. The atmosphere in the stadium is important for the team and we’re going there with everything we have, determined to reach the last match with our fate in our own hands.”