Jose Mourinho has hailed Vinicius Junior's resilience as he starts a four-game ban in LaLiga, saying he would have left Real Madrid long ago if he was the Brazilian.
Mourinho: If I was Vinicius, I would have left Madrid
Vinicius Junior's four-game ban in LaLiga starts this week, and Jose Mourinho feels the Real Madrid forward has been mistreated in Spain.
Madrid welcome Sevilla to the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday, having taken 18 points from their first eight league games at the start of Mourinho's second stint in charge.
But they will be without Vinicius for that game – and each of the next three, which includes the first Clasico of the season against Barcelona – after he received a red card for pulling Nathan Saliba's hair in the build-up to a disallowed goal late on against Villarreal.
The length of Vinicius' suspension was announced around two hours before Madrid's chaotic 4-3 win over Roma in the Champions League on Wednesday, which Mourinho suggested was done intentionally to damage his team.
Mourinho has been outspoken in his belief that Vinicius is treated differently to other players in Spain, and he is amazed the forward has not been driven out of the country.
"He's a spectacular kid who it's easy to have a good relationship with," Mourinho told reporters.
"He's a fantastic boy. Tremendous credit to him for the fact that he keeps living and surviving and still having a smile...
"If it were me in his place, I probably wouldn't be here.
"In this last summer I would have forced an exit to a league in another country, to somewhere there are rival clubs and stadiums that respect him."
Asked why Vinicius had committed his long-term future to the club by signing a new contract this summer, Mourinho said: "Because he loves Real Madrid, for loving the club and the city, for believing that things can always improve, he renewed and he keeps on smiling.
"Nobody can... well, they can influence him negatively, because he's human... but they can't take away his joy of living and working and being with his team-mates. No one can do that."
Sevilla have enjoyed a positive start to their first full campaign under Luis Garcia, having been tipped as possible relegation candidates in pre-season.
They go into matchday nine with 14 points on the board and sit fifth in the table, only four points adrift of Madrid.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Real Madrid – Kylian Mbappe
With Vinicius out, even more of the attacking burden will fall on Mbappe. He has been involved in four goals in four LaLiga games against Sevilla (three goals and one assist), scoring in three different matches against them.
He has only found the net in more separate matches in the competition against Real Sociedad (four, also three against three other teams).
Sevilla – Robbie Ure
Ure attempted five shots in Sevilla's last LaLiga match against Levante, equalling the record for a Sevilla player in an away game in the competition since the start of last season (also five by Akor Adams against Elche in January 2026).
His chances will surely be more limited at the Bernabeu, but might he be able to make one count?
MATCH PREDICTION – REAL MADRID WIN
Real Madrid are unbeaten in their last 15 LaLiga matches against Sevilla (W13 D2) and could now record their longest-ever unbeaten run against them in the competition.
If Los Blancos score, they will also set their longest scoring streak against Sevilla in the league's history (currently 15 games, 29 goals).
Sevilla have also lost on 16 of their last 17 trips to the Bernabeu in LaLiga (D1), failing to win there since a 3-4 victory in December 2008; this is their worst winless away run against Real Madrid in the competition.
Sunday's hosts are also enjoying an excellent run on their own turf, winning each of their last seven home games in LaLiga.
They have only once recorded a longer winning run at home in the competition since the 2020-21 season, winning 10 straight between April and November 2025.
While Mourinho's men are clear favourites, Sevilla should not be expected to simply roll over, having gone unbeaten through their first four away games of 2026-27. That is their longest such run from the start of a campaign since 2011-12 (first six, W1 D5).
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Real Madrid – 72.5%
Sevilla – 11.7%
Draw – 15.8%
