Former Real Madrid sporting director Jorge Valdano has claimed that Jose Mourinho dropped Iker Casillas for the 3-2 loss to Malaga as a means of stamping his authority.

The Portuguese coach is rumoured to have a bad relationship with the Spain skipper, and left him out of the starting line-up in favour of Antonio Adan for the trip to La Rosaleda, a move which ultimately backfired.

“Mourinho has a peculiar relationship with his squad but this is really upping the stakes,” he told Cadena SER.

“This was a show of power; he was wielding his authority on a club legend.”

Mourinho claimed that the decision was due to the impression Adan had made on him, but the Argentine feels the former Chelsea boss was punishing the team.

“I imagine it was a technical decision, that he trusted a lot in Adan’s ability, because it doesn’t make sense to bring disciplinary decisions into the starting line-up,” he added.

“If you do that, you punish the team. It was a big decision and I imagine he had thought about it for a long time, even though I don’t know the true reasons behind it.”