Jose Mourinho returned to Real Madrid this summer, 13 years after his turbulent three-year first stint came to a close, as a new Netflix documentary titled Mourinho sheds light on his relationship breakdown with former club captain Iker Casillas. During that first spell, the legendary Portuguese boss clashed with several senior players after initially labelling Casillas the captain and best player upon his arrival.
In the documentary, released earlier this week, Mourinho reflected on the state of the squad when he took charge. "Mentally, they were in a very bad place," Mourinho said. He explained that early conversations with Casillas shaped his view of the team.
"The first thing he told me was: 'I've come to ask for more vacation time for the national team players'," Mourinho said. "In the second conversation, he asked me to delay training by an hour because there was a lot of traffic in Madrid at the time I wanted to start the session. In the third, he told me they didn't want to go to the hotel, that they preferred to see each other on match day and go directly to the stadium." Following those discussions, Mourinho added: "I realised they were being spoiled."
El Clasico and national team tensions
Mourinho's relationship with Casillas continued to deteriorate, with a major flashpoint occurring when the goalkeeper called Barcelona player Xavi to ease tensions between Spanish players at the two clubs. The call came during a fierce El Clasico rivalry when Mourinho and Pep Guardiola were managing the respective teams.
Mourinho rejected the gesture towards Barcelona. "This is a Barcelona-Real Madrid match," Mourinho said in the documentary. "When you're with the national team, you can kiss each other twice, but not now. This is war. There are things I don't accept and never will. When someone doesn't respect me, it becomes a problem."
Casillas, who was also interviewed for the film, explained his decision to contact Xavi. "That situation was complicated because you were captain of Real Madrid and captain of the Spanish national team," Casillas said. "You were facing team-mates who were your enemies on the football field, but then they were your team-mates on the national team. I didn't like seeing that and I told the manager."
Dressing room fallout
The conflict escalated as Mourinho later dropped Casillas from the starting team. Former Real Madrid midfielder Sami Khedira described how the decision affected the squad. "Iker was a Real Madrid legend, beloved by the fans," Khedira said. "Mourinho benched him and wouldn't speak to him, spoke ill of him in the media... the dressing room became a hellhole."
Khedira added that the feud severely damaged team cohesion. "After that, the relationship between Jose and many players, like Cristiano Ronaldo and the Spanish players, broke down," Khedira said. "And those players were very important to the atmosphere in the dressing room, which became poisoned." Mourinho also later suspected Casillas of acting as a dressing room mole by leaking line-ups, tactics and internal secrets to the media.
End of the first spell
Reflecting on the conclusion of his initial tenure at the Bernabeu, Mourinho explained why he chose to leave the club. "I think the players had grown tired of me as a leader, and I of them too," Mourinho said at the end of that first spell. "I was fed up with them as well, not just them with me."
Mourinho added that external pressure also contributed to his decision. "I was fed up with the players and the press," Mourinho said. "I wanted to leave. I felt I was finished." Mourinho is now back at Real Madrid following the release of the documentary exploring his career.
