Jose Mourinho believes Kylian Mbappe, Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Junior can play together for Real Madrid, despite questions over how the club’s leading attacking players will fit into the same team.
Mourinho made the comments at a news conference before Real Madrid’s opening match of the 2026-27 season, when they face Espanyol on Saturday, 22 August.
The fixture will be Mourinho’s first official match since returning to the Real Madrid dugout for a second spell. He was appointed head coach again during the summer, bringing him back to the club for the second time in his managerial career.
The Portuguese coach was asked about the balance of his squad after Real Madrid completed the signing of Ivorian winger Yan Diomande. His arrival has prompted debate about whether Diomande can be accommodated alongside Mbappe, Bellingham and Vinicius Junior, who are regarded as the club’s principal attacking stars.
Mourinho rejected the suggestion that the group is incompatible. He said he considers Mbappe, Bellingham and Vinicius Junior capable of operating together, indicating that their individual qualities do not necessarily create a tactical problem for Real Madrid.
That view will be tested immediately when Espanyol visit in the league opener. The match represents the first competitive opportunity for Mourinho to establish how he intends to use the prominent players in his squad and how the new arrival will fit into his plans.
Mbappe, Bellingham and Vinicius Junior occupy central roles in the discussion surrounding Real Madrid’s attacking structure. The questions raised after Diomande’s acquisition have focused on whether there are enough positions and responsibilities for all of them within the same starting line-up.
Mourinho’s response suggests he does not see the presence of one player as preventing the others from contributing. Instead, he believes the three established stars are compatible and can share the pitch under his management.
The comments came before the season’s first match rather than after a competitive performance, so Mourinho’s proposed solution will only become clear once Real Madrid begin playing. Their meeting with Espanyol will therefore provide the first official indication of how the manager approaches the selection issue.
There was no further detail in the supplied report about the precise formation or positions Mourinho plans to use. The report also ends after introducing his response, without reproducing the full direct quotation from the news conference. What it does make clear is that the Real Madrid coach is confident Mbappe, Bellingham and Vinicius Junior can form part of the same team, even following the arrival of Diomande.
Mourinho’s immediate task is now to turn that belief into a workable structure as Real Madrid begin the 2026-27 campaign.
