Real´s Perez: Mourinho took time to adjust

Real Madrid president Florentino Perez says coach Jose Mourinho took time to understand the mentality of the famous Spanish club.

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Portuguese coach Mourinho arrived at Real in 2010, following championship-winning spells in charge of Porto, Chelsea and Inter Milan.

He won La Liga in his second season in Spain, but has reportedly endured several run-ins behind the scenes at the club, including a rivalry with Jorge Valdano, which saw the club favourite leave his post as sporting director.

“‘Mou’ (Mourinho) took a while to understand what Madrid is,” Perez told AS.

“He’s coached in Portugal, Italy and England but this is something else. This is Madrid. We understand our own culture. But those who come in from outside don’t understand it.

“When ‘Mou’ arrived, he clashed with the club, the people, the fact that the fans would whistle at some players or even the coach. That’s even happened with some recently arrived players and they’ve got it wrong a number of times.

“But they’ve learnt. ‘Mou’ knows he’s worked at a number of clubs at the highest level. But as I tell him, Madrid comes first, next and after that. That’s the distance between us and the rest.”

Perez revealed the club passed on the chance to sign Manchester City’s David Silva during his time at Valencia, opting to buy Mesut Oezil from Werder Bremen.

“I believe that we have best squad in Madrid’s history,” he said.

“We could have signed Silva, but I preferred Oezil. Silva is a great player, and on top of that he is Spanish. We like great players.”

The club president also backed Brazilian Kaka to rediscover his best form following an injury-plagued spell at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu.

“Great players and Ballon d’Or winners like Cristiano (Ronaldo) and Kaka make it possible to make more revenue,” he said.

“In some cases, they have bad luck and suffer with injuries. We hope to have Kaka great again.”

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