“Real Madrid and Mourinho are the best in the world. It will be fine...”

“ Aafter the three years we worked together, the truth is that we have made a very good friendship and I think it is beautiful that so many years later we continue with that relationship. And, of course, when a friend comes to Real Madrid it's always a reason to be happy. Real Madrid and José [Mourinho] are the best in the world and I am convinced it will work well”, said the current director of the formation of the Real Spanish Football Federation (RFEF).

The former central defense joined the Portuguese technical team in the first passage through the Merengues, between 2010 and 2013, before starting his career as main coach, which led him to command clubs such as Middlesbrough, Nottingham Forest, Birmingham, Granada and Maccabi Tel Aviv.

Karanka refused to comment on the polemics often triggered by Mourinho, such as the one following the last Madrid derby, on arbitration.

“Well, the truth is I like to keep people’s good things and Joseph has many very good things. In the end, I think everyone defends their arguments and what he did is what the football world does ", said.

However, the current federative officer warned that it will not be easy the task of the Portuguese coach, who returned to the ‘merengues’ 13 years later, with passages by Chelsea, Manchester United, Tottenham, Rome, Fenerbahçe and Benfica in the middle.

“The Real is two years without winning titles, it is the most demanding club in the world and it is normal to be demanding for José to win trophies. So it's normal that, at first, it costs. FC Barcelona is also working very well with [German] Hansi Flick for three seasons. But, as I always said, José is able to get the best of his players”, he stressed.

After seven journeys, Real Madrid ranks fourth in La Liga, with 15 points, to six of the leader and two-time FC Barcelona champion, after, at the last time, it was guided by Xabi Alonso and then by Álvaro Arbeloa.

“The president [Florentino Pérez] is also the president for so many years, who has been so successful, and, if he called José, knowing them as I know them both, I am convinced that they have a fantastic relationship and that we hope it will last a long time”, he reinforced.

On its current responsibilities in RFEF, the former defense recognized the difficulty of working after the conquest of a world title.

“To win a World Cup everything has to be perfect and we were lucky that everything was perfect. We have a fantastic group of players in the field and better off. Having a selector and a technical team for 15 years also helps a lot, because we create relationships of coach, father, friend and confidant, with everything you live outside feeling in the field ", described.

Faced with the question of the preference for a future Golden Ball, between the Spanish Lamine Yamal and French Kylian Mbappé, Karanka was politically correct: “Lamine, Rodri, Fabián [Ruiz], we have many to choose from in Spain, I think they deserve and it is clear that Spanish football is at a good time”.