Mourinho leaves Vinícius role open as Real Madrid weigh next step

José Mourinho has argued that Real Madrid should consider Vinícius Jr’s current form, not simply his reputation, when deciding how to help the forward return to his best.

Speaking before the Villarreal match, Mourinho said selection should allow for different approaches and made clear that Vinícius deserved support rather than an automatic response of dropping him.

Mourinho says selection must reflect the player’s situation The Real Madrid coach was asked whether his decisions would be based on merit. He said meritocracy mattered, but that a player’s current situation should also shape the response, because some footballers need a different route back to form.