Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho has warned Brazilian winger Vinicius Junior and the team’s other stars that no one is “untouchable”.
Mourinho gave the warning on Tuesday while speaking ahead of Madrid’s game with RB Leipzig in the Champions League on Wednesday.
Vinicius has struggled for form this season and is serving a four-match ban in LaLiga for hair-pulling, but is available on Wednesday.
Ivorian winger Yan Diomande, the club’s record 140 million euro ($157 million) signing, has impressed in recent weeks, scoring against Sevilla on Sunday in LaLiga in Vinicius’s absence.
Mourinho said: “No player is untouchable in my teams. I don’t like the concept of an untouchable players. Only the club badge is untouchable.
“What makes a player untouchable is not his status, the armband, his years at the club, how much was paid for him, what makes him untouchable is his performance on the pitch.”
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Mourinho disclosed that Vinicius would play on the left wing against Leipzig, adding that he had not yet told Diomande whether he would start as well.
Madrid host the Bundesliga side aiming for a third Champions League victory from three matches in the league phase, but in LaLiga they are third and six points behind leaders Barcelona, who they visit on Sunday.
Premier League side Arsenal attempted to sign Vinicius during the summer 2026 transfer window, but the Brazilian winger extended his contract at Bernabeu.
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