Mourinho: I’d Rather Mbappe Score 40 Goals and Win the Title Than Score 60

On August 27 Beijing time, Real Madrid defeated Real Sociedad 4-1 in La Liga to secure a second consecutive victory, with Mbappe scoring a hat-trick. After the match, manager Jose Mourinho spoke about Mbappe and expressed his expectations for him.

Mourinho said: “Mbappe is an unbelievable player, absolutely unbelievable. As for whether he can score 50 or 60 goals, I don’t know.”

“I would rather he only scored 40 goals, but made positive contributions for the team and eventually won the championship, rather than scoring 60 goals while only thinking about himself. The latter is the norm for many forwards.”

“I am very satisfied with him. I have nothing to say about his technical level, but he still has room to improve in helping the team grow, taking responsibility, and contributing defensively. He returned two days before the end of his holiday, which showed a positive attitude. I kept him on the pitch for the full 90 minutes because I wanted to see if he could score four goals.”

Unlike Mbappe, Vinicius Junior was substituted after contributing a goal and an assist in the match. Mourinho explained: “We all speak Portuguese, so it is easier to joke around.”

“If Vinicius had not scored and had not found his rhythm, I definitely would not have taken him off. I substituted him because he needed some rest, and we have another match three days later. I thought taking him off after he scored was a good moment, allowing him to listen to the applause from the fans.”

When asked about comparing Mbappe with Cristiano Ronaldo, Mourinho avoided the comparison: “I don’t like comparing players, but this guy (Mbappe) is incredible.”

“I am very happy that he can create history at the World Cup. A World Cup champion has 25 people, but only one person will be remembered by history, and that is the one who scores the most goals and creates history.”

“He also hopes to create history at Real Madrid. But what I see is an excellent team. Even without Mbappe, this is still a great team.”