Real Madrid head coach Jose Mourinho stated that he is “not happy” with the controversy surrounding his defender Raul Asencio, who has again made headlines for the wrong reason after being found guilty of drunk driving in his hometown Gran Caria.
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Real Madrid head coach Jose Mourinho stated that he is “not happy” with the controversy surrounding his defender Raul Asencio, who has again made headlines for the wrong reasons after being found guilty of drunk driving in his hometown Gran Caria.
Mourinho was asked about the incident in a prematch press conference on Thursday morning, to preview his team’s Friday night La Liga clash with Real Betis at the Bernabeu.
“I spoke to him when I arrived based on things from the past. Since I arrived, I don’t talk about extra-sporting situations anymore. In Valdebebas he is an exemplary professional. When he was well, no one trained more and better than him,” Mourinho first said.
“Now he is the first to arrive and the last to leave. But a Real Madrid player is a Real Madrid player 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and 12 months a year. Everything you do outside, it’s still Real Madrid. It continues to damage the prestige of a club that is untouchable. I’m not happy and everyone makes mistakes, but accumulated mistakes are different,” Mourinho added, in a nod to Asencio’s other, previous legal battles.
Asked if he counts on Asencio as part of his team, Mourinho said: “The club has opened a file. While the file is open, I see him as a Real Madrid player. He is injured and will continue to be so for a couple of weeks. That helps me to be out of this problem.”
On Lionel Messi’s retirement from international football, Mourinho said that talking about the Argentine associated with Madrid’s bitter rival FC Barcelona is “complicated”.
“There are no words. That’s what we’ve seen, he’s one of those players you’re going to miss. We have to watch an MLS game, which I don’t like very much. There are players that you always miss. And this one we know what he means.”
Mourinho offered thoughts on Betis and the level of the league Real Madrid plays in
“It has to be a great Real Madrid. Betis are a very good team. To win you have to be at your highest level,” Mourinho first said about facing the Andalusians.
On the quality of the league this season, Mourinho insisted: “Atletico Madrid will be candidates. Surely they think and feel that they can be.”
“This stability of the same coach and mentality is an important force in football. Then there are teams in the Champions League like Betis or Villarreal who are strong. We’ll see tomorrow. The Basques too, all difficult.
“For me it’s not an easy league. There is a pressure that does not exist in other championships, which is to always have to win. In Germany or France they have the peace of mind that they will always be champions. Here a result that is not winning, it is not a good result.”
Level on points with FC Barcelona, Real Madrid can return to the top with a win over Betis, which it faces at 21.00 local time in Spain.
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