Mourinho calls Mbappé controversy ridiculous and confirms his start against Villarreal

José Mourinho came out swinging in defense of Kylian Mbappé. The Real Madrid coach described the controversy surrounding the French striker as ridiculous during the press conference before the match against Villarreal, on matchday eight of LaLiga EA Sports. The Portuguese boss confirmed that Mbappé will start and delivered a direct message to the Santiago Bernabéu crowd.

• Mourinho calls the Mbappé controversy ridiculous.
• The French forward will start against Villarreal, as confirmed by his coach.
• The manager says anyone who fails to meet Real Madrid's standards will not even be on the bench.
• He revisited the Paris nightclub and Switzerland bicycle episodes, which he says were misinterpreted.
• He urged the Bernabéu to be fair and intelligent enough to read between the lines.

Mourinho confirms Mbappé in the starting line-up and responds to the Bernabéu

The Portuguese coach left no room for doubt about the French forward's involvement. He stressed that a Real Madrid player must behave like one 24 hours a day and that when someone fails to meet his obligations as a player and as a citizen, he will not have the chance to be booed because he will not even be on the bench: he will be at home. With that premise in place, he closed the debate: Mbappé will play because he is certain that the striker has not let Real Madrid down.

I make one promise to the Bernabéu: when a Real Madrid player does not behave like a Real Madrid player 24 hours a day, when he does not fulfil his duties as a player and as a citizen, you will not see that player on the bench, you will not have the chance to boo him because he will be at home. Mbappé is going to play, and that is because I am sure he has not failed Real Madrid.

Mbappé's fitness and the recovery plan for his knee

Mourinho explained that the forward was at Valdebebas, underwent a diagnosis and also visited an external specialist because his knee has a history that cannot be ignored. He said the assessment from Real Madrid and the external consultation matched completely. From there, a recovery plan was put in place whose details, according to the coach, do not need to be known in full. What came afterwards, he added, was purely the search for problems.

The Paris nightclub and the bicycle in Switzerland: Mourinho's version

The Real Madrid coach revisited some of the episodes that have fed the noise around Mbappé, with a touch of irony. He recalled that what was portrayed as a nightclub in Paris was not that at all, but a venue set up for Paris Fashion Week. And as for the bicycle in Switzerland, he clarified that it was a hotel made up of small houses, each with a couple of bicycles to move around a common area in a resort of absolute calm. Far from a controversial getaway, he described it as an environment designed for rest, while some were already talking about a sort of cycling Tour of Switzerland on two wheels.

The real problems in football and the demands of Real Madrid

Mourinho widened the focus and regretted that the genuine problems in football have not been enough to fill the debate. He cited major cases that, in his view, offered plenty of material, such as the old story of Manchester City's difficult situation or the tension in his home country involving Cristiano Ronaldo and his coach. With no issues inside Real Madrid and no controversies of that scale, he said, Real Madrid is Real Madrid and there is always something to dig up.

The manager insisted that a player is a player all day long and that any significant private behavior has consequences, but he defended that his squad has been exemplary on a professional level. He highlighted the internal work done so that everything was clear regarding national team duty, return schedules and rest periods, and stressed that everyone has fulfilled their responsibilities.

Mourinho's message to the Bernabéu before facing Villarreal

The Portuguese coach ended his press conference with a wish aimed at the fans: that the Bernabéu can stay away from these controversies. He did not want to point fingers or name names, admitting he could be wrong, and made it clear that he does not comment on the crowd and respects it. His hope, he said, is that the stadium will be fair, and for him being fair also means being intelligent, knowing how to read between the lines and understanding the dynamics and the objectives behind all of this.