Jose Mourinho said that he would never sacrifice a team for one individual player, in a press conference before Real Madrid's match against Valencia on Sunday.

Obviously, Vinicius Junior has been a big talking point for Mourinho all throughout his second stint at the club. Even though his time at the club has not been too long so far, Vinicius Junior, being a huge player, has always been a huge talking point.

He has not had a good start to the season at all, and it just looks like it will be a very long time until he is actually able to recover some of his best form, if that ever happens. It seems like he is taking a few steps back every single time he plays for Real Madrid, which already isn't too much because of his suspension in La Liga.

Mourinho was asked about whether Vinicius Junior was just slotting into the lineup now that his suspension will be over after the international break. Although he did not give a clear answer, he also did not clearly say that he would be starting, which is the opposite of what he was doing a couple of weeks ago. He said, "The team comes first. I would never, of my own accord, ever do anything to harm the team for the benefit of a single player.

"Right now, this issue has only come up in these two Champions League games, and that's it. Once we are back to normal and Vinicius Junior is available, I will handle it as I see fit. To give a more objective answer to your question, the coach must do everything, absolutely everything, to get his players to the highest level.

"We have to work with every possible strategy, and we are going all out with complete conviction. When it comes down to it, when it's time to decide who plays, the team must always come before any individual player."

Vinicius Junior simply cannot start at this level, and Jose Mourinho would probably know that, too

That is how everything should work at a club like Real Madrid, where player power is so big. Mourinho understands that, and he also has lived through this entire experience before. However, saying this and actually doing it as well after the international break are two separate things. Everyone knows that Vinicius Junior is a brilliant player at his absolute best, but Real Madrid fans have not seen his best in quite some time.

Yan Diomande, on the other hand, has been playing in Vinicius Junior's position, and he has easily been the best left winger the club has right now. It makes very little sense for Vinicius Junior to slot back into the lineup if his form doesn't improve. If he does slot back into the lineup, then Mourinho will be going against the very thing he has just said in this press conference.

It is easier said than done, but Mourinho and Real Madrid's higher-ups, if they get involved, would need to put the team before the player, and if the player is not able to perform at a high level, there is no need for him to be in the starting eleven.

Whether that happens or not remains to be seen, but it is clear that for Real Madrid to continue this way, Vinicius Junior, in his current form, will have to be benched for the foreseeable future. If he is able to bring back his best form, that will be a good headache to have for Mourinho, but if not, Mourinho should not dwell on this any further.