Diego Llorente: Mourinho Protects the Team Through Details

Diego Llorente discussed Jose Mourinho and his current experience at Betis in an interview with El Mundo.

One of the important players in the Real Betis dressing room is Diego Llorente. The 33-year-old is entering an important new season as a Betis player, with the team returning to the Champions League after 21 years. He did not play in the previous matches against Real Sociedad and Levante; in the away win over Valencia, Llorente started and delivered an excellent performance. Tonight, he may have a new opportunity against Real Madrid, the club where he came through the youth academy.

Speaking about making his Real Madrid debut under Mourinho, Llorente said: “I remember that I was originally planned to make my debut in the previous match against Espanyol, but Adan was sent off and Casillas had to come on. The game became complicated and I did not get on the pitch. In training the next day, Mourinho explained to me why he had not been able to put me on. I was surprised at the time because I was young and thought he did not need to explain these things to me. In these details, he is unique. There are many things behind the scenes that fans and journalists do not see. What you see is only what he wants you to see, but he always uses certain details to protect the team and the club, and those details make the difference. I also saw this when I worked with him in Rome. If someone has to take responsibility for the unpleasant side of criticism, he would rather take it himself.”

Speaking about working with Mourinho at Roma, Llorente said: “He knows exactly what he wants. He protects his players, but he is also very strict and demanding. I only have words of gratitude.”

Speaking about playing in the Champions League with Betis at the age of 33, Llorente said: “During holidays I stop and reflect, looking back at the path I have taken. I feel very lucky and grateful for the life I have. I come from a very ordinary family, and my parents had very ordinary jobs. When I was young, my father had to wake up at 5 a.m. to go to work before taking me to training at Real Madrid City in the afternoon. I value these things very much. We always seem to focus on what we lack instead of what we already have. I am lucky, and I realize that now. At 21, I did not have this awareness.”

Speaking about Pellegrini rotating between Bartra and himself, Llorente said: “Even if I played football with my daughter, I would not like to lose (laughs). When I joined Real Madrid’s academy at the age of seven, the club always taught me to maintain a competitive spirit regardless of the result. When the coach decides to play Bartra, of course I am not happy. But I will put that emotion into the next training session, because competition ultimately benefits the team.”

Speaking about his serious injury in the 2024/25 season, Llorente said: “It was disappointing not to play in the 2025 Conference League final, but it was a year full of resilience and overcoming obstacles. After suffering such a serious injury, being able to later play 30 matches and make contributions was very important to me.”

Speaking about his daily life, Llorente said: “I see all of this as something normal. People often stop me on the street, but they are always polite, and that is something we have to accept. I go to the cinema and take my daughter to the park... It is more difficult for Antony or Isco. Once people recognize them, the situation becomes chaotic.”

Llorente discusses the Premier League’s impact on the transfer market

Speaking about the transfer market, Llorente said: “In my opinion, this is a fundamental issue. The Premier League has been ahead of us for many years in terms of television rights, and their financial fair play rules are completely different from ours. Behind every club there are very powerful groups and businessmen who support their finances. Here, the regulations are very strict. So they can spend a lot of money, while we find it very difficult to do so. This is a huge competitive disadvantage. To compete with the Premier League, the rules should be more flexible, but the figures there are extraordinary. Everton has 300 million euros in debt but it remains possible because businessmen or funds can provide money. That is not possible here. All sides should make compromises and solve the problem. Unfortunately, many clubs’ interests are not aligned, and everyone is not pushing in the same direction. The solution is not for La Liga to copy the Premier League’s loss-making model, because that is neither healthy nor sustainable, but I believe La Liga’s controls are also too strict. We need to find a middle ground.”