José Mourinho on Tchouameni and Valverde's Transformation

José Mourinho insists he has never needed to play peacemaker between Aurélien Tchouameni and Federico Valverde, despite the storm that surrounded the pair last season.

The two midfielders clashed twice in May, one confrontation serious enough to leave Valverde in hospital with a head injury. Their feud dominated headlines and raised questions about the chemistry at the heart of Real Madrid’s dressing room.

Those questions feel a long way off now.

From flashpoint to foundation

The summer changed everything. Tchouameni signed a new contract. Valverde took the captain’s armband after Dani Carvajal’s departure. What looked like a fracture has turned into the spine of Mourinho’s squad.

Ahead of Madrid’s meeting with Rayo Vallecano, Mourinho painted a picture of a group that has repaired itself from within.

“Look, I haven't done anything. They've done everything themselves,” he said. “The empathy within the group today, the friendship, the way they work together, the frustration when they go off because nobody wants to be substituted, but still supporting their teammates, the player who comes on in the final minute… the group is fantastic.”

The truce wasn’t just talked about. It was there for everyone to see.

During Madrid’s recent Champions League win over Inter Milan, Tchouameni made his first appearance of the season after returning from World Cup duty. He came on late, replacing Trent Alexander-Arnold, and when the final whistle went, he walked straight to Valverde. The pair embraced. No drama, no distance. Just teammates.

Mourinho admitted he had braced himself for trouble when his internationals came back from the World Cup. He expected to have to read the room, to step between egos if the old tension resurfaced.

It never did.

“If I knew nothing, if I walked into the dressing room without knowing anything about the situation, I'd think they were great friends,” he explained. “When they came back from the World Cup, I was obviously paying attention to see whether I needed to act as a peacekeeper, but I didn't have to do anything.”

Mourinho’s shield around Vinicius

With the midfield fires apparently out, Mourinho turned his attention to another storyline: Vinicius Jr.

The Brazilian ended a summer of speculation by signing a long-term deal through 2032 last month. His future is settled. His form, for now, is not. One goal in five games across all competitions has triggered familiar murmurs in Spain: Is he doing enough? Has his edge dulled?

Mourinho is having none of it.

“The best Vinicius is coming soon,” he insisted. “The one from last year, when the Bernabeu was terrified against Benfica and he ended up winning the tie. The Vinicius who won matches single-handedly hasn't arrived yet. But he will.”

He leaned on numbers to back his conviction, but not the ones being thrown around in talk shows and columns.

“In an era of data and statistics, he's very close to his top speed,” Mourinho said. “He's broken his records for high-intensity sprints, records for ball recoveries, for ball recoveries in the final third... He's coming.”

The former Chelsea and Manchester United manager bristled when the criticism from the Spanish media was raised. To him, the noise is not a sign of decline. It is a sign of status.

Vinicius is 26 and already has three La Liga titles, two Champions Leagues and two FIFA Club World Cups with Real Madrid, among a long list of honours. Players with that kind of résumé do not slip under the radar. They attract pressure. And, in Mourinho’s view, they attract something else.

“In Portugal there's a proverb, I don't know if it's the same in Spain, ‘you only throw stones at trees that bear fruit,’” he said. “What has Vini done here in recent years? How many Champions Leagues has he won? How many goals has he scored? He's a tree with plenty of fruit. And people throw stones because they want fruit.”

The dressing room has healed, the captain and the renewed midfielder now pulling in the same direction, while the club’s most explosive forward stands under his coach’s protection. The question now is simple: with the fractures mended and the “tree with plenty of fruit” ready to ripen again, how far can this Madrid side go?