Mourinho says he is 'very happy' with Real squad despite missing out on Rodri

Speaking on Tuesday, the Real coach insisted that, in his mind, the squad is already complete, even if the transfer window remains open and even if doubts still linger over the balance of his midfield.

Madrid have overhauled the squad this summer, bringing in 6 new players including club-record signing Yan Diomande, along with Bernardo Silva and Marc Cucurella. But for all that movement, the failed pursuit of Rodri still stands out because it left the club without the kind of clear midfield controller many expected them to add.

Mourinho does not sound especially worried.

"For me, the squad is closed, but the transfer market is still open, you never know if a player comes and says, 'I have been left on the bench twice and I want to leave'," Mourinho told reporters. "In theory there will be no more deals... but things can always happen... In my head, the squad is settled and I have not asked for anyone else. I am very happy with the players I have."

Whether everyone outside the club agrees is another matter. Since Luka Modric and Toni Kroos departed in 2024 and 2025, Real have clearly looked less secure when trying to control matches, and that issue did not completely disappear in Saturday's narrow 2-1 opening win over Espanyol.

In that game, Bernardo Silva and Federico Valverde operated together in midfield. It worked well enough to get the result, but not so convincingly that the wider questions vanished. Mourinho, however, appears ready to back what he already has rather than reopen the market in panic.

That is especially relevant because Aurelien Tchouameni is still not fully ready. The French midfielder will miss Wednesday's game against Real Sociedad, with Mourinho explaining that the player had not had enough time over the summer to recover properly and that the club had decided not to take risks early in the season.

"He has a problem, the holiday time was not enough for him to recover, he saw the matches getting close and the player wanted to try... but we decided that you cannot start the season in pain," Mourinho said. "You can end the season struggling over the last few months, but you cannot start August without being at 100%."

Mourinho also used the opportunity to underline how he sees Valverde, a player who has often been shifted around by different coaches, at right-back, on the right wing and in several midfield roles.

"For me, he is a central midfielder," Mourinho said. "Depending on the opponent and what we want, he can hold his position more or move more freely."

He then widened the point into a broader view of modern football.

"I do not want to label Tchouameni a No. 6, Camavinga a No. 6, Fede an No. 8, Bernardo a No. 10... everything becomes blurry during the match."

He is basically saying he trusts function over labels, and that the answers to Madrid's midfield questions will come from flexibility inside the squad rather than one final blockbuster signing.

It is a confident message. Now he has to prove it on the pitch.