Diego Llorente spoke about Mourinho and his current experience at Real Betis in an interview with El Mundo.

Diego Llorente is one of the key figures in Real Betis's dressing room. The 33-year-old is looking forward to an important season as a Betis player, with the club returning to the Champions League after 21 years. He did not get playing time against Real Sociedad and Levante, but started and played well in the away victory against Valencia. Tonight, he could get another chance against Real Madrid, the club where he came through in their youth academy.

Speaking about his Real Madrid debut under Mourinho, Llorente said: "I remember it was initially planned for me to debut in the previous match against Espanyol, but Adán was sent off, Casillas had to come on, and the match became complicated, so I couldn't play. The next day at training, Mourinho even explained to me why he couldn't play me. I was surprised at the time because I was young and thought he didn't need to explain anything to me. In these details, he is unique. There are many things behind the scenes that fans and journalists don't see. You only see what he wants you to see, but he always uses certain details to protect his team and club, and these details make the difference. I also saw this when I worked with him at Roma. If criticism needs to fall on someone for accepting something negative, he prefers to bear it himself."

Llorente said about working with Mourinho at Roma: "He knows exactly what he wants. He protects his players, but he's also very strict and demanding. I only have words of gratitude."

Speaking about playing in the Champions League with Betis at age 33, Llorente said: "During my holiday, I took time to reflect and look back on the path I've traveled, feeling very fortunate and grateful for the life I have. I come from a very ordinary family; both my parents had very ordinary jobs. When I was young, my father would wake up at 5 a.m. to go to work, then take me to Real Madrid City to train in the afternoon. I really appreciate these things. We always tend to look at what we lack rather than what we already have. I'm very fortunate, and I realize that now. When I was 21, I didn't have that awareness."

Speaking about Pellegrini rotating between Bartra and him, Llorente said: "Even when playing with my daughters, I don't like to lose (laughs). When I joined Real Madrid's youth academy at age 7, the club always taught me to stay competitive regardless of results. Of course, I'm not happy when the coach decides to play Bartra. But I channel that emotion into the next training session, because ultimately, the team benefits from the competition."

Speaking about a serious injury in the 2024/25 season, Llorente said: "It's unfortunate I couldn't participate in the 2025 Conference League final, but it was a year full of resilience and overcoming obstacles. After such a serious injury, being able to play 30 matches and contribute is very important to me."

Speaking about his daily life, Llorente said: "I see all of this as very normal. People often stop me on the street, but they're always very polite, and that's something we have to accept. I go to the cinema, I take my daughters to the park... It's harder for Anthony or Isco; as soon as someone recognizes them, it turns into chaos."

Llorente on the Premier League's Impact on the Transfer Market

Speaking about the transfer market, Llorente said: "In my opinion, this is a fundamental issue. The Premier League has been far ahead of us for years in terms of TV broadcasting rights, and their financial fair play rules are completely different from ours. Every team has very powerful groups and entrepreneurs behind them supporting their financial reports. Here, regulations are very strict. So they can spend a lot of money, but it's difficult for us to do so. This is a huge competitive disadvantage. To compete with the Premier League, the rules need to be more flexible, but the figures there are exaggerated. Everton has 300 million euros in debt, but it's still possible because an entrepreneur or fund will pay it off. This isn't possible here. All parties need to take a step back and resolve the issue. Unfortunately, the interests of many teams are not aligned, and everyone isn't working in the same direction. The solution isn't for La Liga to copy the Premier League's loss-making model, which is neither healthy nor sustainable, but I think La Liga's control is too strict. We need to find a middle ground."

Diterjemahkan oleh AI.

Situs web AF kini hadir! Lihat berita lengkap, komentar, detail pertandingan, dan statistik di komputer Anda. Kunjungi: www.allfootballapp.com