Mourinho told Vinicius Jr it was 'not worth' leaving Real Madrid
On 19 August 2026 Jose Mourinho told Vinicius Jr on the Spanish TV show El Chiringuito that it was "not worth" leaving Real Madrid, comments the manager said formed part of his effort to persuade the winger to remain at the club.
The 26-year-old had entered the final 12 months of his contract at the Bernabeu, meaning he would have been able to leave Real for free next summer, and Premier League champions Arsenal were alerted to the possibility of signing him as contract talks continued. Mourinho, who has won the Champions League as manager of Porto and Inter Milan, had his return to Real for a second spell confirmed in June.
Mourinho described the conversation with Vinicius in detail on El Chiringuito, saying: "Vinicius has fallen in love with Real Madrid. The only thing I told him was: 'Vini, where do you want to go? You've only been in Brazil and you only know Real Madrid. You only understand Real Madrid when you leave. When you leave that's when you realise what Real Madrid is. Don't leave. It's not worth it.' "I think what he has felt in terms of the group's growth, the way we've been working and developing, has given him a very important feeling."
Mourinho also recounted his recent encounters with Real while manager of Benfica, noting he came up against Real three times in the Champions League last season and describing an incident in the second meeting, the first leg of their knockout phase play-off, when Real players alleged Benfica's Gianluca Prestianni racially abused Vinicius and the match stopped for around eight minutes. Prestianni denied the claims and Uefa later banned him for three matches, with a further three suspended, for homophobic conduct.
Defending his own player, Mourinho said: "Prestianni was my player. That's it. There's no debate. If Prestianni is my player, 20 players can come at me and I'm still with Prestianni. End of story," and added: "I think Vini now knows what side I am now on and knows he can look me in the eye and rely on me to be on his side."
The club have been active in the transfer market as they seek to respond after a rare two years without major silverware; Rodri, who won the Golden Ball at the 2026 World Cup and had been tipped to help Real's recovery, entered the final year of his Manchester City contract and had previously expressed a desire to return to Spain. Real and Barcelona pursued the midfielder, and Rodri chose to move to La Liga champions Barcelona in a deal worth £65m.
Reflecting on the chase for Rodri, Mourinho said: "We talked a couple of times and Real Madrid made him a good offer. Rodri had doubts and his doubts made me doubtful. He is a remarkable player and he behaved correctly at all times with us but the scale of Real Madrid is that you can't have players here who think twice about coming. "I wish him well. Not too well, obviously. But I wish him well."
Mourinho recalled his trophy-winning first spell at Real between 2010 and 2013, when he won La Liga, the Copa del Rey and the Spanish Super Cup, and referenced his broader managerial career at Manchester United, Tottenham and Inter Milan. He said he returns to Madrid "much more mature, less emotional and more controlled," adding: "Obviously, I can't hide or try to be something I'm not. I'm much more mature, less emotional and more controlled. As always, I learn from mistakes. But I don't regret this or that, because I don't think regretting something that has happened helps anything in life. Learning from experiences does. In this job as a coach, I think the more experience you have, the more deja vu you have, the better you become. That's not to say I'm more boring. I have the same DNA."
Vinicius committed his future to Real by signing a six-year contract earlier this month.
