Mourinho plays down Champions League pressure on Real Madrid return: "Two different spells"

Jose Mourinho is back at Real Madrid 13 years after leaving the club for the first time. Speaking ahead of Tuesday's Champions League opener against Inter Milan, the Portuguese coach made clear that his return has nothing to do with unfinished business or old wounds: the one major title he did not win during his previous spell, the European Cup, brings no extra pressure.

• Mourinho returns to Real Madrid 13 years after leaving in 2013.
• The Portuguese says his second spell is separate from what happened in the first.
• The Champions League was the only major trophy he failed to win as Madrid coach.
• Real Madrid open their campaign on Tuesday at the Bernabeu against Serie A champions Inter.
• The team arrive after a 1-0 defeat at Real Betis, the first setback of the new project.

What Mourinho says about the Champions League he missed out on

When asked whether he felt he owed Real Madrid a Champions League trophy, Mourinho was blunt in separating the two periods. "No, it is two different spells," he said. "When I left in 2013, we won what we won and lost what we lost, and we gave it our all. And that was that. What I need to do now has nothing to do with the past."

The Portuguese coach went further by contrasting the situation he found in 2010 with the one he has now. Back then, Madrid were not even reaching the Champions League quarter-finals and had gone a very long time without a semi-final appearance. Now the club has won six European Cups in little over a decade. The context has changed completely, and with it the demands and the urgency.

The defeat at Benito Villamarin, first warning for this new Real Madrid

Mourinho's press conference took place with the noise still fresh from the 1-0 loss against Real Betis in La Liga, the first setback of his second spell in the dugout. Far from being dramatic, the coach focused on the need to build solid foundations to compete for major honours.

"We want to win every match, every competition. But you have to work to accomplish stability. Stability. Stability. Structure. Real Madrid need to reach that stability that is so important to achieve something great."

Even so, Mourinho did not lower the self-demand that defines the club: "Real Madrid are Real Madrid. You need to win here no matter what." A direct message to a squad expected to fight for everything in a season with the bar set high.

Real Madrid chase the Champions League four years after their last title

The Spanish giants, 15-time European champions, enter the competition with an obligation to lift the trophy again. The club's last Champions League title came in 2024, and the following two seasons ended without a major trophy, a gap that has coincided with Kylian Mbappé's arrival in Madrid.

Their opening opponent is an Inter Milan side arriving as Serie A champions, providing an immediate test of how this new Madrid respond after their league stumble. The Santiago Bernabeu will be the stage to measure the project's reaction.

Mbappé on the dressing room and his relationship with Vinicius Jr

Mourinho's appearance gave way to a far more uncomfortable session for Kylian Mbappé. The French forward was repeatedly questioned about his relationship with Vinicius Jr and the general mood inside the Madrid dressing room, with reporters asking whether the new coach had changed anything from last season.

"What does an improvement in the dressing room mean? Do you have the feeling that something wasn't right last year? No, it's the same as last year. It's true we have a different coach, but it's the same," the forward replied.

Mbappé's words put an end, at least for now, to the debate over any supposed lack of internal chemistry. The focus now shifts to the pitch, where Real Madrid must show that Mourinho's new project can live up to the club's historic stature.

Frequently asked questions about Mourinho's return to Real Madrid