Mourinho at Real Madrid: "I'll build a team with these stars"

Real Madrid's new head coach Jose Mourinho gave a clear answer to rumours that he would offload star players from the squad after taking charge. Speaking on a podcast, the Portuguese coach firmly denied reports that some stars would be sold at the Bernabeu and showed his faith in the current squad.

Mourinho addressed the claims in the press directly in his remarks: "We shouldn't be speaking about Real Madrid but I can just touch on a little point. I read a few things where people were saying: 'Jose Mourinho is coming here and he's going to cut some of the top players that supposedly they had some problems during the season'. No." The Portuguese coach went on: "I want these players! I want the best players."

Mourinho stressed that the real issue is not moving players on, but forming a whole out of them: "Now I have to find a way to have a team and not to have problems like, eventually, they had in previous seasons. If you have problems with not very good players, that is a BIG problem. The big players are the big players." These words show the coach intends to turn the star squad into a more effective whole rather than break it up.

Mourinho's words about the qualities he looks for in a player also drew attention. The Portuguese coach said a "big player" must be a complete package: "Has to be technically good, has to be physically good, has to be mentally good. Has to be a team player." Mourinho, who coached Real Madrid between 2010 and 2013 and won three trophies including a record-breaking La Liga title, will officially start at the Bernabeu in early July, having returned on a three-year contract. Mourinho has already added names like Marc Cucurella, Bernardo Silva and Ibrahima Konate to his squad.

Image: Milliyet