LaLiga: ‘I was fed up’ – Mourinho reveals who forced him out of Real Madrid

Real Madrid manager José Mourinho has revealed that he became frustrated with the players and the media during his first spell at the club, eventually feeling that his time at the Santiago Bernabéu had come to an end.

Mourinho joined Real Madrid in 2010 after guiding Inter Milan to a historic treble and spent three seasons in Spain. Although he failed to win the UEFA Champions League, he led Madrid to the LaLiga title in 2012, ending Barcelona’s three-year dominance of the competition.

However, Mourinho has now revealed that tensions within the squad played a major role in his eventual departure in 2013. Reflecting on his relationship with former Madrid captain Iker Casillas in his Netflix docuseries, Mourinho recalled several conversations that he felt demonstrated the mentality of some players at the time.

He said Casillas initially approached him to request additional vacation time for players involved with the national team. In a subsequent conversation, Casillas asked him to delay training by an hour because of heavy traffic in Madrid, while another request was for the players to avoid staying at a hotel before matches and instead meet on matchday before travelling directly to the stadium.

Mourinho said these incidents reflected what he considered a poor mentality within the squad. He explained that the players had seemingly become tired of him as their leader, while he had also grown frustrated with them. “I was fed up with the players and the media. I wanted to leave. I sensed that my time was up,” he said.

After leaving Real Madrid, Mourinho went on to manage Chelsea, Manchester United and AS Roma before returning to the Bernabéu this summer for a second spell, 13 years after his first tenure ended. His latest comments suggest that he remains conscious of the dressing-room problems that contributed to his original departure and will be looking to establish a stronger culture during his return.

Galaxy Sports Production