New Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho opens up on his feelings for Barcelona | OneFootball

FC Barcelona are going to face another familiar rival in the 2026-27 season as Real Madrid, their archrivals and top contenders for titles in Spain, have appointed the Portuguese manager Jose Mourinho as their team’s head-coach.

During his time at the Merengue bench thirteen years ago, he was a part of one of the most memorable El Clasico rivalry between the two clubs. His characteristic persona and approach to the game made him a perfect antithesis to Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona, and this clash made the rivalry between the two Spanish teams even more passionate and entertaining.

It remains to be seen what the El Clasicos of the 2026-27 season hold. But from the looks of it, the Portuguese manager has somewhat watered down his aggressive approach towards the Blaugrana club. This was quite clear as he appeared in an interview for Vanity Fair, his first following his appointment at Real Madrid, and, as Mundo Deportivo has noted, talked about the Catalan club at some length.

Mourinho remembered the time that he had spent at Barcelona as an assistant coach and talked about two players who turned out to be exceptionally successful managers for the Catalan team:

“I was a young assistant coach. Pep and Luis, at that time, were just players. I was very far from where I would eventually end up. I think Pep and Luis were only thinking about their playing careers, not their coaching careers. Now we’re all Champions League winners. But back then, honestly, we were just trying to do our jobs as best we could.

Of course I could see that Pep was a very intelligent player because of the way he played and read the game. Of course I could see that Luis was a leader, that he was a motivator. I noticed that too. But at the time, you don’t think about those things; you just focus on giving your best.”

The new Merengue coach made it clear that he does not see Barcelona as an enemy, but as a rival as he fondly remembered his time at the Catalan club:

“In Barcelona, we lived through a wonderful period. My daughter arrived in Barcelona when she was just one month old. My son was born in Barcelona. My wife, my children, and I spent four incredible years there. And I don’t have a single bad memory of it.

But football is football, and I played against Barcelona many times, starting with Chelsea before going to Inter. Important Champions League matches with Chelsea, then important Champions League matches with Inter, and then I went to Real Madrid.

I think destiny brought us together. In the end, I don’t deny that I love Real Madrid, and that’s why I’m returning. But I hold no resentment toward Barcelona. I simply enjoy playing against them because, in football, you enjoy competing against the best. The best push you to become better.”

Meanwhile, he also bragged about one achievement from his previous tenure at Real Madrid that remains unrepeated up to now:

“Barcelona is seen as the team that plays incredible football. Barcelona is seen as the team that scores lots of goals. But that’s a great contradiction. The team that scored the most goals in the history of Spanish football was my Real Madrid in the 2011–12 season, with 121 goals and 100 points in a single campaign.”

The Portuguese coach also talked about the intensity of El Clasicos during his first stint at the Merengue club:

“People don’t watch Clásicos the way they used to. The world used to stop. It wasn’t just about Madrid and Barcelona, or Spain. It was the whole world. People couldn’t wait for those matches. Of course, Cristiano and Messi were icons. They were the two best players in the world.

Real Madrid is the greatest club in the world. Barcelona is one of the greatest clubs in the world after Real Madrid. Honestly, it was madness. I think it’s a bit like Nadal against Federer or Nadal against Djokovic. Even though tennis now has exciting young players, those who love the sport remember those years as something special. Those Clásicos were special too.”

These comments indicate Jose Mourinho might have softened his feelings towards FC Barcelona a bit. Still, his return to Real Madrid is expected to once again bring more fire and passion in the historic Spanish rivalry, and hopefully, it would only result in betterment of football.