‘His drought is even deeper than that of the club’: Ex-Real Madrid manager voices concerns over Mourinho return | OneFootball

Real Madrid’s 2025-26 season was a roller-coaster with not too many positives to take away. What it did, however, was set the stage for a massive rebuild.

Los Blancos did not garner a single trophy in the campaign and eventually lost even La Liga by a sizeable deficit. Throughout the season, there were serious lacunae highlighted in all departments, and the result is a massive revamp this summer.

Despite the basically poor season, however, there were some winners and some clear losers from the campaign, and internal politics ended the season in the worst manner possible.

Argentine legend speaks on Real Madrid

Former Real Madrid coach Jorge Valdano spoke to the media in a recent interaction via Mundo Deportivo where he gave his in-depth analysis on several Real Madrid-related topics.

He first began by addressing the club’s decision to bring Jose Mourinho back and raised concerns over the appointment.

“Florentino understands that Mourinho can change the team’s self-esteem. But it must be said that neither Florentino, nor Mourinho, nor football is the same as 15 years ago.”

“Mourinho won a Conference League five years ago and a Europa League 10 years ago. Mourinho’s drought is even deeper than that of Real Madrid,” he added on the appointment.

Mourinho is a risky bet by Florentino believes Valdano. (Photo by Alex Broadway/Getty Images)

He then concluded that the only justification to bring the Portuguese tactician is the faith Florentino Perez has in his abilities.

“It’s a bet from Florentino, he always liked him and wants to give him a second chance.”

He was then asked to comment on the club’s difficult situations, especially with them failing to win a major trophy for two straight seasons.

“In the last 25 years, Real Madrid has never won two league titles in a row. Winning La Liga seems to have no prestige at the moment and the Champions League overpowers everything.”

“[There is a feeling] that you only have to win the Champions League to be a total winner, but La Liga is very important because it gives you continuity in performance,” he added.

On specific players

Valdano then gave his two cents on several individuals at Real Madrid – some of whom are flying high while others are still working on a return or recovering from a difficult season. He began by praising Nico Paz and calling for his return.

“It is an imperative need for Real Madrid to bring in midfielders. I take Nico Paz for granted, it would be clumsy not to take advantage of his talent when he is so handy and accessible. He still belongs to Real Madrid.”

“Any player who makes a contribution in that place on the court will give him a leap in quality,” he added.

Speaking on Franco Mastantuono and the difficult season the youngster has had, he said,

“The Argentine player played well for the first half, but midway through the season they sold him off – to younger and younger players. Sometimes we go too far, and Mastantuono ended up paying the price for that.”

Valdano sympathised with Mastantuono’s situation. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)

“He arrived too young, and with all that the Bernabeu represents, plus the fact that he didn’t win any titles – all of that affected his state of mind, and in the end, he didn’t perform as expected,” he added.

Speaking on Mastantuono’s exclusion from Argentina’s FIFA World Cup squad, Valdano said,

“The World Cup must have hit him hard, but he’s just a kid – he’s 18. He was on the right track, but he didn’t get to play in recent months, and that was his downfall.”

“In my view, you develop by competing. Being 18 and having started only 10 games all season is a waste of time.”

Encouraging him to look up to Nico Paz and go down the same route, the former manager said,

“Nico Paz went to Como, became an undisputed starter, and got better with every game thanks to the confidence he gained. If he returns to Real Madrid, he’ll come back with a lot more confidence.”

Finally, he was asked to provide his opinion on Kylian Mbappe, especially after the conflicting season the player has had.

“I see him extraordinarily well. There is a kind of suspicion around him that he is responsible for the titles that PSG won and those that Real Madrid did not win.”

“In both championships, he was the top scorer in the League and last year the top scorer in Europe, he fulfilled his part of the contract. Blaming the best player in the world for the ills of a team seems ridiculous to me,” he added.