Real Madrid: José Mourinho talks about the tensions that led to his departure in 2013.

José Mourinho addressed the difficulties faced during his first term at Real Madrid, particularly the mentality problems that may have led to his exit from the club in 2013. The Portuguese manager joined the White House in the summer of 2010, just weeks after leading Inter Milan to a historic treble. He spent three seasons on the Madrid bench, winning La Liga in 2012. This title allowed Real Madrid to end FC Barcelona’s dominance in the league after three consecutive seasons of Catalan reign. However, Mourinho was unable to deliver a new Champions League title to the Spanish club.

Despite his sporting results, the Portuguese’s tenure at Real Madrid was marked by several internal tensions. In his documentary aired on Netflix, Mourinho notably discussed his relationships with the locker room and Iker Casillas, then the team captain. The coach recounted how the Spanish goalkeeper had quickly shared some of the players’ demands with him. “The first thing he told me was: ‘I came to ask for more vacation time for the national team players’”, Mourinho explained.

“I was fed up with the players and the media”

A second request then concerned training schedules. “During our second conversation, he asked me to push back training by an hour due to traffic in Madrid at the time I intended to start the session,” he continued. Finally, Casillas also mentioned the possibility of changing the group’s habits on match days. “The players preferred not to go to the hotel and wanted to meet on match day to head straight to the stadium. Mentally, they were in a very bad state,” Mourinho recounted.

In hindsight, Mourinho believes that fatigue had become mutual between him and part of his locker room. “I think the players were tired of my leadership role, and I felt the same way towards them. I was frustrated with them, and not just the other way around,” he confided. He added: “I was fed up with the players and the media. I wanted to leave. I felt that my time was running out.”

Thirteen years after his departure, José Mourinho returned to the Real Madrid bench this summer for a new adventure. In the meantime, the Portuguese has managed several major European clubs, including Chelsea, Manchester United, and AS Roma, before coming back to the Spanish capital.