‘I don’t care whether he likes Mourinho, Julia Roberts or whoever’

Real Madrid head coach Alvaro Arbeloa has accused reporters of being “unfair” over his decision to pick Trent Alexander-Arnold over Dani Carvajal and namechecked Hollywood star Julia Roberts after Kylian Mbappe appeared to show his support for former Blancos boss Jose Mourinho.

Arbeloa, whose position is widely thought to be under scrutiny, barely played club captain Carvajal during Madrid’s run to the quarter-finals in the Champions League knockout stage, preferring Alexander-Arnold in a selection he repeated for the 2-1 home win over Alaves in La Liga on Tuesday.

“Ask my players how I speak about him in front of the group,” said Arbeloa, having given right-back Carvajal his 300th appearance for the club as a substitute.

“You’re trying to put me in a difficult position in this unfair situation. He’s more than ready to go to the World Cup [with Spain].

“I’m happy with him and he should be just as important to the national team. I’ve always had a good relationship with him – I’ve always treated him with affection, respect, and admiration.

“For people to think I make line-ups for personal reasons… I find it hard to believe that any coach in the world doesn’t make line-ups for footballing reasons.”

Why Madrid are picking Alexander-Arnold over Carvajal

Carvajal and England hopeful Alexander-Arnold both missed out on their national teams’ squads for their March friendlies building up to the 2026 FIFA World Cup in June and July.

The 34-year-old is out of contract at the season and Arbeloa said a new deal would be between the player and the club.

“I’d be happy with whatever makes them happy,” said Arbeloa, who took over after Xabi Alonso’s reign of less than eight months ended in January. “Anything good for Carvajal and Real Madrid is good for me.

“It’s very simple: only 11 players can play. It’s not that they can’t play [well]. There are many I’m being unfair to [with tough choices], but I know how well they train. That’s all there is to it.

“Trent is showing a good level. He deserves to play; his performance is beyond question.

“Every game is a matter of life and death for me; when I put a player in, it’s because I believe he deserves it and because I think it’s [necessary] to win. I don’t give anyone a single minute [frivolously].”

Kylian Mbappe: ‘I don’t care whether he likes Mourinho’

Madrid and Liga top scorer Mbappe appeared to react to a graphic on Instagram claiming that Mourinho is in contention to return to Madrid next season, with outlets including Marca reporting the France captain had liked the post.

The 63-year-old Portuguese won the 2011/12 Liga title, the 2010/11 Copa del Rey and the 2012 Spanish Super Cup during his time with the club between 2010 and 2013.

“I don’t care whether he likes Mourinho, Julia Roberts, or whoever,” responded Arbeloa, whose side are nine points behind Liga leaders Barcelona and were knocked out of Europe by Bayern Munich this month.

Mbappe has more than 131 million followers on the social media platform. Roberts, whose accolades include an Academy Award and three Golden Globe awards, has more than 14.3 million followers.

Jose Mourinho: Would Madrid reappoint manager?

An eight-time top-flight champion across Portugal, England, Spain and Italy, Mourinho also won the Champions League at Porto in 2003/04 and Inter Milan in 2009/10.

He won the Premier League with Chelsea in 2004/05 and 2005/06, returning to triumph again in 2014/15 during his second spell at Stamford Bridge.

Mourinho’s two most recent glories were the 2016/17 Europa League title with Manchester United and the 2021/22 inaugural Conference League trophy with Roma.

Sacked by Fenerbahce after less than 15 months in charge earlier this season, Mourinho started his second spell at Benfica later that month.

The Eagles reached the Champions League knockout play-offs in extraordinary style when Anatoliy Trubin’s last-gasp goal sealed a 4-2 home win over Madrid to ensure they progressed on goal difference, but Arbeloa’s team then beat them home and away in the play-offs.

Despite being seven points behind leaders Porto, Benfica are unbeaten after 29 matches of the Portuguese top-flight season.

What’s next? Real Madrid fixtures, schedule

Madrid return to action on Friday at fifth-placed Betis in the first of three straight away games.

Mbappe scored the opener in their victory over Alaves, which ended a four-match winless run in all competitions included a draw and defeat in La Liga.