Mourinho breaks his silence on Prestianni's racist insult toward Vinícius

Some wounds take a while to heal, and this is one of them. José Mourinho spoke once again about the episode that rocked the Champions League last February, when Benfica's Argentine winger Gianluca Prestianni insulted Brazilian forward Vinícius Júnior in the middle of the round of 16 match. And he did so without filters: he felt singled out, judged and, in his own words, "slaughtered" by plenty of people who, he says, were only looking to ride the wave.

"It was difficult for us because, in the end, Prestianni wasn't disqualified for racism. I was slaughtered by public opinion, mainly by so many opportunists, in an absolutely uncontrollable situation," the Real Madrid coach admitted in an interview published this Thursday by Il Corriere dello Sport.

It's worth recalling the context. That matchup between Benfica, then coached by Mourinho, and Real Madrid had to stop for ten minutes after Vinícius reported racist insults from the young Argentine. The referee activated the anti-racism protocol in the middle of the match, and UEFA ultimately sanctioned Prestianni for "discriminatory conduct," an episode that defined that tie far beyond the result on the field.

Mourinho recalled how confusing those minutes were, with no certainty for anyone on the bench. "One player was saying that the accusations against him weren't true," he explained, "and nobody has proof" in the moment. That's why he defended himself this way:

That way you can't take a position.José Mourinho

Despite the discomfort of the ordeal, the Portuguese coach wanted to close the chapter with a reading he likes, and he said it plainly: he likes "a lot" how the story ended, because "there was a fantastic kid there and there's another one of gold here," referring to both Prestianni and Vinícius Júnior.

Mourinho returns to his "home" in Rome

The Prestianni-Vinícius chapter is now in the past, but the calendar doesn't wait. Mourinho is getting ready to return on October 14 to a city he knows by heart: Rome, where he says he feels "at home." There, at the Stadio Olimpico, Real Madrid will face off in the second matchday of the Champions League league phase, a reunion that carries a special meaning for the Portuguese coach beyond the three points at stake.