Jose Mourinho has made clear that Vinicius Junior will have to earn his place in Real Madrid’s starting XI after completing his suspension, and will not be chosen simply because of his profile.
Madrid have won their three league games since Vinicius was sent off against Villarreal last month. The Brazilian will miss Saturday’s visit to Valencia as he serves the final match of his four-game ban.
Yan Diomande has taken advantage of his absence. The forward has scored four goals and provided three assists in his last six appearances, giving Mourinho another option in attack.
“For me, the most important thing is the team,” Mourinho said. “I’ve never wanted to harm the team to benefit a player. When Vinicius is back to normal and available, I’ll manage things.
“I have to do everything to have my players at their best. Always believe in the true potential of the player. A bad player will always be bad no matter how hard you try and a good player, in their bad moments, leaves the door open for them to return to their normal form.”
Vinicius started Madrid’s Champions League match against AEK Athens in midweek but was substituted after Jude Bellingham had made it 2-2. He watched from the bench as Federico Valverde scored a late winner.
Mourinho defended the winger’s performance in Greece, but said his side needed to improve after falling behind twice.
“The game that Vini Jr. played in Athens – if it wasn’t Vini Jr. but a regular player – we’d all say he had a good game,” he said. “Not incredible because his team didn’t play incredibly.”
Madrid are seeking an eighth consecutive victory in all competitions. Mourinho said the comeback against AEK showed both the team’s resilience and its shortcomings.
“It’s better not to come back,” he said. “It’s better like at Santander, 3-0 up at half-time. Coming back has positive and negative aspects.
“It’s about belief, a strong bench, team motivation, knowing what shirt you wear. But it also has its downsides, and that’s the side we have to work on. We have to find more consistency when starting matches.”
🔛 Último entrenamiento antes del partido contra el Valencia. https://t.co/N69gAUevAp
— Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadrid) November 6, 2026
Mourinho also dismissed concerns about the upcoming international break. He said his immediate focus was Valencia, who have had a full week to prepare for the match.
“I’m worried about tomorrow’s match, worried in a manner of speaking,” he said. “The difficulty of tomorrow’s match is my concern. The national team isn’t a problem.”
He added: “For me, the problem is tomorrow’s match against a fresh team that had the whole week to prepare, with a coach who isn’t concerned about whether they’ll play beautifully or not, but about winning the game at all costs. It’s a very tough match, and that’s what concerns me.”
Madrid are third in La Liga with 27 points from 11 matches, three behind leaders Barcelona. A win at Mestalla would move them level with Barcelona before the leaders face second-placed Atletico Madrid on Sunday.
Valencia are 19th after collecting nine points from 11 games. Their 1-0 victory over Elche last time out was only their second league win of the season.
Madrid will be without Vinicius through suspension, as well as Rodrygo, Raul Asencio and Ferland Mendy, who are injured.
