A phone call from José Mourinho helped Marc Cucurella make the decision to move to Real Madrid. The Spanish defender revealed that the conversation with the coach was brief, but that he sensed a specific interest in him after Mourinho mentioned Cucurella’s actions in a match against Benfica.
“When a coach with his history calls you and tells you that he wants to work with you, it gives you a lot of confidence,” Cucurella said in an interview with Cadena SER. According to him, Mourinho is “a very approachable person” and “is always in a good mood”.
The transfer was completed in a day and a half
Cucurella moved from Chelsea to Real Madrid in June 2026. The deal was worth €55 million, while his contract with the Spanish club runs until 2032. The footballer himself explained that the negotiations were completed extremely quickly.
“They called me in the morning and asked me if I wanted to go. I had no doubts because it was a major step in my career. Everything was done in a day and a half,” Cucurella told AS.
The left-back admitted that saying goodbye to Chelsea had not been easy, but described Real Madrid’s offer as an opportunity that was difficult to turn down. He also said that the pressure at the club was at its highest and that his aim was to fight for trophies, including the Champions League.
“This is not a match between Cucurella and Yamal”
His relationship with Lamine Yamal adds a personal element to the matches between Real Madrid and Barcelona. The two know each other from the Spain national team and regularly meet in training.
“We know each other because we have faced each other many times in training, but this will not be a match between Lamine Yamal and Cucurella,” the defender said before a previous clash between the two teams. He added that it was impossible to prepare just one plan against a player like Yamal, because the winger is capable of changing his actions at any moment.
On October 25, Real Madrid beat Barcelona 2-1 at Camp Nou, with Kylian Mbappé scoring both goals for the winners. Cucurella started the match and took primary responsibility for dealing with Yamal on the hosts’ right flank.
After the match, Mourinho praised the defender’s performance. “Lamine is very good and clever because, besides being talented, he is also intelligent. For Cucurella, this was probably his toughest match, but he dealt with it very well,” the Portuguese coach said.
Thus, the personal duel that Cucurella had urged people not to exaggerate beforehand became one of the key episodes in the first Clásico of the season. The Spaniard received recognition from his coach, while Real Madrid won the derby through Mbappé’s goals and ushered in a new stage in the rivalry with Barcelona.
Sources: as.com, cadenaser.com, tntsports.co.uk