Mourinho warns three-week international break will disrupt Real Madrid squad

Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho said he was concerned about September's three-week international break while speaking before Sunday's home La Liga match against Malaga (16:00 BST). He warned that the length of the pause leaves the club without key players and said: "But not having players at my disposal for three weeks is a difficult situation."

Mourinho, who returned to Real Madrid after thirteen years, outlined the context for his concern as the first international break of the 2026-27 men's season next month will last a week longer than usual. The traditional separate September and October breaks have been combined into a single three-week period across late September and early October, when nations will play four fixtures instead of two. The existing international windows in November, March and June remain in place, and the scheduling change followed considerations including the 2026 World Cup final being played on 19 July, the latest date for a summer World Cup since 1966, together with player welfare and travel issues.

Addressing reporters, Mourinho opened with a direct assessment of the interruption: "The international break does concern me," he said. "It's a lot of time." He added that his primary worry lay with internationals who travel but then see little or no action for their national teams, saying: "Players who will join their national teams to play don't worry me as much. It's the ones who join the national teams and are not really involved that concern me."

On the subject of injuries linked to international-duty absences, Mourinho said he respected players' choices but pointed to a pattern of issues after those breaks. "I totally respect the players' decisions and I don't want to dramatise too much, but very often they pick up injuries during those breaks and right after returning from an international break," Mourinho explained. "So it does worry me, but this is the way these things are and we can't do much about it."

Mourinho also referenced members of his squad who featured at the recent World Cup, naming Jude Bellingham, Marc Cucurella and Kylian Mbappe as players who have had "a demanding summer." He said the club are working to manage their workload to reduce the risk of injury.

Turning to individual performers, Mourinho offered specific praise for Bellingham, describing his contribution beyond goals and assists: "He is a unique kind of player, extremely important for the team," said Mourinho. "His mental strength, tactical ability, the way he recovers the ball, the way he pressures, the way he plays up front." He added: "We like talking about Kylian, Vini [Vinicius Jr] and Jude, but I'm really happy with all the players. We have great, great players here."

On the Ballon d'Or conversation Mourinho cautioned against equating team trophies with automatic individual favouritism, saying: "It's a very beautiful thing individually and that enters into the individual history of a certain player," Mourinho said. "I think it's normal that there are a dozen players of a very high level, of which we have three or four. It is normal that it exists as an ambition." He set out his own criterion for the award's ultimate value: "For me, the Ballon d'Or has to be one of those players that when he finishes playing, we miss for eternity," Mourinho said. "I miss Maradona, Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, Cristiano, Messi, Zizou, Lothar Matthaus - I miss these people. You can't give the Ballon d'Or to a player because he won the Champions League or because he won the World Cup. It doesn't have to be from Paris St-Germain or the Spanish national team."

Real Madrid's immediate focus remains the home meeting with Malaga on Sunday at 16:00 BST, after which the squad will prepare for the three-week international window next month. The timing of that extended break is the issue Mourinho emphasised as the club manages playing time and recovery for its international players.