‘I spoke to him for 3 minutes’: José Mourinho reveals how he told Real Madrid star he was not in his plans

Real Madrid head coach José Mourinho has provided an insight into the process which ultimately led to Dani Ceballos departing the club this summer.

Midfielder Ceballos has of course seen his name reemerge front and centre in the Spanish media chatter over the last couple of days, after his long-awaited return to Real Betis was at last confirmed.

The one-time Arsenal man had spent the entire summer to that point as a free agent, following his departure from the aforementioned Real Madrid.

Despite his Blancos contract having still had a year to run, Ceballos agreed to a termination 12 months early. And as alluded to above, on Thursday, José Mourinho revealed the entirely straightforward manner in which this development came about.

Drawn on the name of his former midfielder during his pre-Real Betis press conference, the Portuguese tactician explained:

"Ceballos? I spoke to him for three minutes on the phone when I first got here. I told him he was not in my plans.

"A lot of times, players hold onto their contracts and say 'no, I want to stay', but Ceballos told me if I'm outside your plans, then I'd prefer to be free to decide my future, so he agreed to terminate his contract."