Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho has defended his approach to the club's young players.

Mourinho has been criticised for ignoring the talent in the Castilla.

"The list that I made was for smart people. I talked about the 20, 30, 40 or 50 that came through the ranks and left. To end this story I will talk about three moments in Real Madrid's history. The Champions League Finals in Amsterdam, Paris and Glasgow. In the first there were two academy players Sanchís and Raúl. In the second there were two; Raúl and Casillas and in the last only one player from the academy was in the starting line-up; Raúl again.

"I have said that I have myself have complete autonomy with my team and Toril does with his. So the issue is completely closed. I have an opinion that does not change, for example, José Rodriguez, who you all like so much, does not play with Castilla but the 23 or 24 year old players do. To me it's more important that he plays in the fourth, fifth or sixth team. It is about the players' development."