Mourinho told Vinicius Jr 'not worth' leaving Real

Mourinho has won the Champions League as manager of Porto and Inter Milan [Getty Images] Jose Mourinho told Vinicius Jr it was "not worth" leaving Real Madrid as he successfully persuaded the Brazilian to remain at the club. The 26-year-old had entered the final 12 months of his contract at the Bernabeu, meaning he would have been able to leave Real for free next summer. Premier League champions Arsenal were alerted to the possibility of landing one of the world's top wingers as contract talks wore on but Vinicius Jr eventually committed his future to Real earlier this month by signing a six-year contract. And Mourinho, 63, whose return to Real for a second stint in charge was confirmed in June, spoke of his part in keeping the Brazil international in the Spanish capital. Mourinho said on Spanish TV show El Chiringuito: "Vinicius has fallen in love with Real Madrid. "The only thing I told him was: 'Vini, where do you want to go? You've only been in Brazil and you only know Real Madrid. You only understand Real Madrid when you leave. When you leave that's when you realise what Real Madrid is. Don't leave. It's not worth it.' "I think what he has felt in terms of the group's growth, the way we've been working and developing, has given him a very important feeling." Mourinho came up against Real three times in the Champions League last season, when he was manager of Benfica. During their second meeting - the first leg of their knockout phase play-off - Real players alleged that Benfica's Gianluca Prestianni racially abused Vinicius, resulting in the match stopping for around eight minutes. Prestianni denied the claims and Mourinho defended his player. Uefa later banned Prestianni for three matches, with a further three suspended, for homophobic conduct. Mourinho addressed the incident and said Vinicius can "rely on me to be on his side". "Prestianni was my player. That's it. There's no debate. If Prestianni is my player, 20 players can come at me and I'm still with Prestianni. End of story," he said. "I think Vini now knows what side I am now on and knows he can look me in the eye and rely on me to be on his side." Mourinho reveals Rodri 'doubts' after talks Rodri won the Golden Ball at the 2026 World Cup [Getty Images] After a rare two years without major silverware, Real are looking for a way back to the top and Spain captain Rodri was tipped to help with that. With Rodri entering the final year of his Manchester City contract and having previously expressed a desire to return to Spain during his career, Real and Barcelona swooped. Rodri chose to make the move to La Liga champions Barcelona in a deal worth £65m and Mourinho has explained the "doubts" he felt over his side's pursuit of the midfielder. "We talked a couple of times and Real Madrid made him a good offer. Rodri had doubts and his doubts made me doubtful," Mourinho said. "He is a remarkable player and he behaved correctly at all times with us but the scale of Real Madrid is that you can't have players here who think twice about coming. "I wish him well. Not too well, obviously. But I wish him well." Mourinho returns 'more controlled' but not 'boring' Mourinho is renowned for his passionate sideline displays [Getty Images] In his previous spell in charge of Real between 2010 and 2013, Mourinho won La Liga, the Copa del Rey and the Spanish Super Cup. Now 13 years older and having had spells at Manchester United, Tottenham and Inter Milan, the Portuguese believes he returns to Madrid a "more controlled, less emotional" manager - but insisted that does not come at the cost of reduced entertainment. Mourinho said: "Obviously, I can't hide or try to be something I'm not. I'm much more mature, less emotional and more controlled. "As always, I learn from mistakes. But I don't regret this or that, because I don't think regretting something that has happened helps anything in life. "Learning from experiences does. In this job as a coach, I think the more experience you have, the more deja vu you have, the better you become. "That's not to say I'm more boring. I have the same DNA." Follow your club with BBC Sport Listen to the latest Football Daily podcast Get football news sent straight to your phone