“He’s that kind of player” – Jose Mourinho makes surprising comments about Bernardo Silva after his Real Madrid debut
Jose Mourinho shared some honest thoughts about Bernardo Silva after the Portuguese star made his Real Madrid debut in their 2-1 win over Hungary’s Ferencvaros in Budapest.
Mourinho watched as Mario Rivas and Carlos Espi put Real Madrid ahead 2-0 at the Groupama Arena before Kenan Kodro scored for the home team. Some key players like new signing Denzel Dumfries, captain Fede Valverde, and Eduardo Camavinga all started the game.
In the second half, Mourinho made lots of changes, bringing on Trent Alexander-Arnold, Dean Huijsen, and Vinicius Junior, who just signed a new six-year deal. Silva played the entire second half, but Mourinho feels he still needs to build up his fitness.
“Bernardo is a really important player,” Mourinho said after the match. “He tends to completely switch off during holidays and doesn’t do much work, so he came back a bit behind in fitness, which he needs to work on. But he’s a great player who helps us a lot in building up play, whether he’s deeper or in midfield. I saw he lacked some physical strength during the game, so I moved him further up, and brought on Cestero to add stability. Bernardo is comfortable playing as a number 10 too.”
Mourinho also praised Bernardo’s versatility, saying he’s great for any coach because he can play in three or four different positions. This is very helpful since Real wants a small squad of just 20 players, especially with some injured stars like Rodrygo, Militão, and Mendy still out and expected to be for a while.
On Vinicius Junior’s contract renewal, Mourinho said everyone is happy that Vini decided to stay at Real despite interest from Arsenal. “His new contract is really important,” Mourinho said. “It’s a boost for him and the whole team. With only a few training sessions behind us, these players come to the game tired from training. I didn’t expect him to run 50 meters with the ball and score, but he’ll definitely be better in the next games.”
Next up, Real Madrid will play Deportivo La Coruña on August 12, then face Schalke four days later. Their 2026/27 La Liga season begins against Espanyol on August 22.