José Mourinho: "Mbappé makes me laugh because he's too good."

Back on the Real Madrid bench, José Mourinho quickly fell under Kylian Mbappé's spell. The Portuguese manager was particularly impressed by his striker's level and attitude since the start of preseason.

José Mourinho seems to have found his attacking leader. With 42 goals in 44 appearances for Real Madrid last season and 10 goals at the 2026 World Cup, Kylian Mbappé is coming off a particularly prolific campaign. Just a few weeks of work were enough for the new Madrid coach to appreciate the qualities of the French national team captain.

“Mbappé is incredible. Sometimes he makes me laugh in training… because he’s just too good. He’s a player of stratospheric level,” Mourinho enthused in an interview with El Chiringuito. The Portuguese manager, however, refused to dwell on the criticism the Frenchman sometimes faced last season: “I don’t accept that blame or applause should be attributed to a single person. I don’t like that.”

Mourinho also impressed with his attitude

Beyond his on-field qualities, Mbappé has impressed with his professionalism. Although he was eligible to resume training on August 14th after the World Cup, the former Parisian reported two days earlier in order to participate in the friendly match against Schalke 04, which Real Madrid won 3-0.

“A guy who could have come back on August 14th and who showed up as early as the 12th, that already tells me a lot,” Mourinho emphasized, also pleased with his commitment during training sessions. After finding the back of the net against Schalke, Mbappé should logically be one of the key players in Mourinho’s new Real Madrid, which will kick off its La Liga season on Saturday evening at Espanyol.