José Mourinho insists he has not had to play peacemaker between Aurélien Tchouameni and Federico Valverde, despite the storm that raged around the pair last season.
The two midfielders clashed twice in May, one confrontation serious enough to leave Valverde in hospital with a head injury. Their feud became one of the defining subplots of Real Madrid’s run-in, a distraction no coach wants in the sharp end of a campaign.
Now, a few months on, the tone inside the dressing room has flipped.
From hospital ward to harmony
The summer reset helped. Tchouameni signed a new contract, a clear vote of confidence from the club. Valverde inherited the captain’s armband after Dani Carvajal’s departure, a promotion that underlined his standing in the squad.
Those decisions could have deepened the divide. Instead, they seem to have closed it.
Speaking before Madrid’s meeting with Rayo Vallecano, Mourinho painted a picture of a group that has repaired itself from within.
“Look, I haven't done anything. They've done everything themselves,” he said. “The empathy within the group today, the friendship, the way they work together, the frustration when they go off because nobody wants to be substituted, but still supporting their teammates, the player who comes on in the final minute… the group is fantastic.”
The proof was on the pitch in Europe. During Madrid’s recent Champions League win over Inter Milan, Tchouameni made his first appearance of the season after returning from World Cup duty. He came on late, replacing Trent Alexander-Arnold, and when the final whistle blew he went straight to Valverde. The two embraced. No drama, no distance. Just teammates.
Mourinho admitted he had been ready to intervene once the pair returned from their national teams. He never needed to.
“If I knew nothing, if I walked into the dressing room without knowing anything about the situation, I'd think they were great friends,” he said. “When they came back from the World Cup, I was obviously paying attention to see whether I needed to act as a peacekeeper, but I didn't have to do anything.”
The message is clear: the crisis that once threatened to split his midfield has become a non-story inside the club, even if the outside world still lingers on it.
Mourinho’s shield around Vinicius
With the Tchouameni–Valverde saga cooling, attention has swung to another familiar subject in Madrid: Vinicius Jr. The Brazilian renewed his contract last month, tying himself to the club until 2032 after a summer full of speculation about his future.
The new deal has not yet been matched by his usual explosiveness in front of goal. One strike in five games across all competitions is a modest return for a player who has built a reputation on decisive moments.
Mourinho, though, sees a different picture.
“The best Vinicius is coming soon,” he promised. “The one from last year, when the Bernabeu was terrified against Benfica and he ended up winning the tie. The Vinicius who won matches single-handedly hasn't arrived yet. But he will.”
In an era obsessed with metrics, Mourinho leaned on the numbers to back his belief.
“In an era of data and statistics, he's very close to his top speed. He's broken his records for high-intensity sprints, records for ball recoveries, for ball recoveries in the final third... He's coming.”
The goals will follow, he insists. The engine is already running at full tilt.
What really stirred Mourinho was the criticism aimed at the 26-year-old. Questions from the Spanish media about Vinicius’ form drew a sharp response, the coach snapping into protective mode around a player who has already stacked his medal cabinet: three La Liga titles, two Champions Leagues, two FIFA Club World Cups, and a long list of other honours with Real Madrid.
To underline his point, Mourinho reached for a line from home.
“In Portugal there's a proverb, I don't know if it's the same in Spain, ‘you only throw stones at trees that bear fruit,’” he said. “What has Vini done here in recent years? How many Champions Leagues has he won? How many goals has he scored? He's a tree with plenty of fruit. And people throw stones because they want fruit.”
The friction in midfield has eased. The captain’s armband sits on Valverde’s arm, Tchouameni is back in the fold, and the embrace against Inter told its own story. Now the tension, as so often in Madrid, gathers around the club’s brightest attacking star.
Mourinho has made his stance plain: the dressing room will police itself, and Vinicius will be judged by the trophies and the goals, not by the noise that follows every step he takes in white.
