Mourinho tells Real Madrid to sign a better Lamine Yamal

Jose Mourinho has told his old club Real Madrid that they should move for a better version of Lamine Yamal.

He heaped this praise on Athletic Club winger Nico Williams before doing battle in the Europa League with the Spanish outfit with Fenerbahce.

Nico had been strongly linked with a move to Barcelona, as well as PSG, Arsenal and Chelsea, in the summer but in the end he wound up staying in Bilbao, partly because of the opportunity of reaching the final of the Europa League at the club’s San Mames home.

Now Mourinho has claimed that he is better than Lamine Yamal, the 17-year-old sensation who has taken Barcelona and world football by storm over the course of the last 18 months – and the Portuguese hopes he hooks up with Carlo Ancelotti’s Real Madrid ahead of Barca.

“Nico is unique. The kid is amazing. People were talking about Lamine Yamal during the Euros, who is obviously another amazing kid, but I personally prefer Nico. He is a fantastic player. You can’t imagine a Turkish club signing the kid. I hope he ends up in Madrid,” he said.

Nico Williams to dash Mourinho hopes

Nico Williams has a €58 million release clause in his Athletic deal and is likely to depart in the summer.

Real Madrid, however, appears an unlikely destination for the Spain winger, meaning there is a slim chance Mourinho’s dream comes true. Los Blancos already have Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior vying for a spot on the left-hand side of their attack, which is the favoured role of the Athletic star.

There is little denying, meanwhile, the value any buying club would get in signing the 22-year-old Nico, despite his form going through a cooling off period following Euro 2024. This season, he has scored only two goals and has laid on a further five assists.

Nico Williams has an Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) of €51.6m.