Jose Mourinho Expresses Satisfaction with Real Madrid Squad Despite Missing Out on Rodri

Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho has stated that he is "very happy" with his current squad, viewing it as complete even after failing to secure midfielder Rodri, who ultimately joined rivals Barcelona.

During the summer transfer window, Los Blancos underwent a significant squad overhaul, bringing in six new players, including record signing Yan Diomande, Bernardo Silva, and Marc Cucurella. Although Real Madrid's pursuit of Rodri was unsuccessful—leaving them without a major central midfield addition other than former Man City playmaker Silva—Mourinho remains content.

“For me the squad is closed, but the market is still open – you never know if a player will come and say ‘I’ve been benched twice and I want to leave,’” Mourinho told reporters on Tuesday. “In theory, no [more deals]… but something could always happen… In my head the squad is closed, and I have not asked for anyone. I am very happy with the players I have.”

Following the departures of midfield mainstays Toni Kroos and Luka Modric in 2024 and 2025 respectively, Madrid has faced difficulties controlling matches. Mourinho's squad recently secured a narrow 2-1 victory at Espanyol in their La Liga opener, deploying Silva and Federico Valverde together in the center of the pitch.

Addressing fitness concerns, Mourinho noted that French defensive midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni was not yet prepared to play against Real Sociedad on Wednesday. “He’s got a problem, the holiday time wasn’t enough [for him to recover], seeing the games approaching, the player wanted to try … but we’ได้ decided that you can’t start a season in suffering,” the coach explained.

Mourinho also expressed strong confidence in Uruguayan international Valverde as a central midfielder, despite previous managers utilizing him across multiple positions like right-back and right winger. Furthermore, the coach downplayed the rigidity of traditional player roles in modern football, stating that positional labels tend to blur during matches.