Third-choice? Inside Alexander-Arnold's struggles in Madrid

Mourinho has addressed speculation that Alexander-Arnold could leave Real Madrid in January, admitting that difficult selection decisions can be painful but insisting that the team's needs must come first.

"First of all, it hurts me. I don't like to make players feel bad. I want them to feel good," Mourinho said.

"Obviously, when you build a squad with two players per position as your foundation and then have a third player take the field, that's something I don't like.

"But there are things that are more important than these feelings. Things that are more important for the team at a given moment. And I decided that right now, the move was to change up the midfield and put Fede [Valverde] in there.