José Mourinho has suggested that Real Madrid’s Champions League schedule may have been created by an Italian after three of his players were suspended for the opening match against Inter.
Madrid will host the Serie A side on Tuesday without Bernardo Silva, Arda Güler and Eduardo Camavinga, leaving Mourinho with several decisions to make in midfield.
Asked about the difficulty of facing Inter with a depleted squad, the Portuguese coach initially provided a measured assessment.
“It’s difficult,” Mourinho told Sky Sport Italia. “Tomorrow, we have three players suspended.”
He then considered how Real Madrid had arrived in this position and identified a possible explanation.
“Maybe the person who made the fixture list was Italian.”
The three suspensions were carried over from last season and were not produced by the fixture schedule itself.
Güler and Camavinga were sent off during Madrid’s Champions League quarter-final defeat to Bayern Munich, while Silva arrived at the Bernabéu with a European suspension earned while playing for Manchester City.
All three would therefore have missed Real Madrid’s opening match regardless of the opposition. The contribution of the unidentified scheduler was limited to ensuring that the opposition happened to be Italian.
For Mourinho, this was apparently sufficient to begin examining possible national loyalties.
The former Inter manager stopped short of alleging a wider UEFA conspiracy and acknowledged that both teams would still begin with 11 players. He also praised his former club, describing Inter as an established team capable of playing together with its eyes closed.
Real Madrid will instead require several players to operate with their eyes open in unfamiliar midfield positions.
Mourinho could move Jude Bellingham into a deeper role, while Aurélien Tchouaméni’s fitness remains uncertain. Trent Alexander-Arnold has also been mentioned as a possible emergency option, although Mourinho declined to reveal his plans.
The identity of the person responsible for compiling the Champions League schedule has not been confirmed, nor has UEFA disclosed whether an Italian passport influenced the placement of Inter in Madrid’s opening fixture.
The three unavailable players remain responsible for collecting their suspensions.
The scheduler is responsible only for arranging them in the most Mourinho-compatible order possible.
