Mourinho critical of new signing Silva: Arrived overweight and unprepared

Jose Mourinho, the renowned coach, has openly criticized new signing Bernardo Silva for his poor physical condition upon arriving for pre-season training. Mourinho stated that the 31-year-old midfielder joined the team overweight and lacking adequate preparation after his summer break.

Mourinho, however, stressed that Silva remains a crucial player for his project at Real Madrid. He highlighted the midfielder's versatility, noting his ability to play in multiple positions, from defensive midfield to a more advanced role. Despite Silva appearing to tire during the match, Mourinho moved him further up the field, emphasizing the need for such adaptable players in a smaller squad.

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Bernardo is very important for us, but the poor guy is one of those players who likes to do nothing during vacation. He arrived in pre-season training in a much worse physical condition, also overweight, and now he has to catch up.

The Portuguese coach also commended Vinicius Junior, who scored upon his return to the team after extending his contract. Mourinho admitted he did not expect the Brazilian to be capable of sprinting and scoring so soon after minimal training. He expressed confidence that both Vinicius and Silva will improve their physical condition with each passing game.

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He is an exceptional player. He can help us as a defensive midfielder, as an No. 8, or higher up the pitch. During the match, I saw him starting to run out of steam, so I moved him closer to the attack. We need players like that because we want to have a short squad.