Javier Aguirre confirms that José Mourinho told him not to be “sad”, because his players are “much better” than his players, after the defeat of Valencia before Real Madrid, by 0-3.
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10/11/2026
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Javier Aguirre took advantage, this Monday, the press conference forecast to meet the first elimination of the Cup of the King, against the UD Tavernes, to clarify the contours of the conversation he held with José Mourinho, last weekend, after the heavy defeat suffered by the ‘your’ Valencia before Real Madrid, in the middle of Mestalla Stadium, by 0-3.
“ He did not tell me that [the players of Real Madrid] are much better. He told me to stay calm, because his players were better. I heard, he's my friend, I congratulated him and went to the locker room. I think I have very good players, if not, I would not be here ", started by saying, in statements reproduced by the Spanish newspaper Sports World.
“We didn’t say that. In the locker room, there was no reaction. They're football people, they took it as a football phrase, they saw it as not personal. No one came to tell me anything, and I had even considered doing a group dynamic. Some probably didn't even notice. The team is fine”, continued.
“ I'm the son of a Basque, I've followed the Spanish championship a lot. When, in 2002, I came to train [Osasuna], Valencia was a champion and was very complicated. It's a position that's always had very good players. It's a big one from Spain, even in bad times. Yes, it is in a bad time of results, but it is a factory of making players, and sooner or later, I wish to return to the place it deserves ", completed.
What did José Mourinho say?
Javier Aguirre's words arise after José Mourinho denied any kind of tension on the way to the resorts after the final whistle for Valencia-Real Madrid: “I left immediately, and my friend Aguirre came with me. It is a pleasure to tell you that I told Aguirre, after the game, ‘Do not be sad, because my players are much better than yours’.
“And it is the truth. The problem is not Aguirre, who is a great coach, with a great experience, but the truth is that Real Madrid players are very good, and coaches who have players like mine are closer to winning,” he added, regarding the Mexican who was hired last September to face Carlos Corberán's resignation.
How bad is Valencia?
Valencia is experiencing a start of the 2026/27 sports season to forget, which translated into a record of seven losses, three draws and only two wins after the first 12 official games, all of them counting for La Liga, where it occupies the 19th and penultimate place of the table, with only nine points won in 36 possible, minus two than the Levante, the team that lives immediately above the ‘water line’.
The attention of the che group now turned to the first elimination of the Cup of the King, where will have ahead the UD Tavernes, in a match that has initial whistle scheduled for 20h00 (time of Continental Portugal) on Tuesday, in the Stadium of Mestalla.