Mourinho Defends Vinicius and Mbappe Amidst Bernabeu Tension
Real Madrid return to the Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday under a strange kind of tension. Results have been mixed, the mood even more so. A Liga defeat to Real Betis, then a gruelling Champions League win over Inter Milan. Three points in Europe, but boos at home.
And the whistles were not for fringe players. They were aimed at Vinicius and Kylian Mbappe.
Mourinho steps between stars and stands
Those jeers became the central theme of Jose Mourinho’s Friday press conference. The coach did not bite back at the fans, but he made his position crystal clear: he is standing firmly with his two star forwards.
He reached for an old saying from home to make his point.
"In Portugal there is a proverb: you only throw stones at trees that have fruit," Mourinho said, quoted by 20Minutos. "You are not going to throw stones at a tree that gives you nothing. What Vini has done here in recent years, how many Champions Leagues he has won, how many goals he has scored, he is a tree that has a lot of fruit. People throw stones because they want fruit, they want the best from Vinicius."
It was a deliberate defence. Not just of Vinicius’ record, but of the idea that the biggest talents will always attract the loudest reactions. Mourinho’s message to the Bernabeu was simple: remember what he has already delivered.
Mbappe’s “animal” shift
The coach then turned to Mbappe, using the same proverb and pointing to a detail that often gets lost in highlight reels: the work without the ball.
He singled out the closing stages of the Inter match, when Madrid were down to ten men and hanging on.
"I use the same proverb as I did for Vinícius," Mourinho continued. "There are things I see and value highly. I watched a team playing in the 90th minute, down to ten men for the final two minutes, and I saw Mbappe playing as a left-winger, defending while a man down, covering for Cucurella, who was already dead on his feet.
"Kylian was exhausted too, yet he spent those two minutes defending the left flank like an animal, urged on by a very demanding coach who wouldn't stop shouting and motivating him."
That image – Mbappe tracking back, legs gone, still chasing – is exactly the kind of scene Mourinho loves to elevate. For him, it is the non-negotiable: stars must run. When they do, he protects them.
Demanding, and proud of it
Mourinho did not hide the fact that the whistles sting.
He admitted it makes him sad when home supporters turn on their own players, but he circled back to one core principle: if a player gives everything, he will never abandon him, no matter the mistakes.
To underline that, he referenced recent comments from defender Dean Huijsen, who had described him as demanding and constantly on his case.
"I’ve read comments from Huijsen saying I’m a real pain, that I’m always on his case, and that’s somewhat true," Mourinho said. "The expectation is that you give everything you have; and whoever gives everything isn't obliged to give more. When there is unity between team and stadium, you are almost unbeatable."
That last line hung in the air. Madrid now head into the Rayo Vallecano game needing not just a win, but a truce. Will the Bernabeu whistle again, or roar behind the “trees with fruit” Mourinho refuses to let anyone chop down?
