Jose Mourinho is back in club management, with ‘The Special One’ reportedly agreeing a two-year contract at Turkish giants Fenerbahce.
The enigmatic Portuguese has been out of work since severing ties with Serie A outfit Roma in January. He had guided them to Europa Conference League glory, and the Europa League final, but was ushered through the exits so that the reins could be handed to club legend Daniele De Rossi.
There was talk of the former Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham boss returning to England at one stage, but his next destination according to Gianluca Di Marzio will be Istanbul. Mourinho is committing to a two-year deal there, with Fener looking to build on a 2023-24 campaign that saw them collect 99 points and suffer just one defeat, only to finish as runners-up in the Super Lig behind arch-rvials Galatasaray.
🟡🔵🇵🇹 José Mourinho’s verbal agreement with Fenerbahçe is on two year contract valid until June 2026.
It will also include an option for further season.
Jorge Mendes has been negotiating the deal and now time to review, sign all formal documents.
Here we go soon! 🇹🇷 pic.twitter.com/rsSZYCUKjO
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) May 31, 2024
Mourinho is a proven winner, with trophy triumphs delivered just about everywhere that he has been. He is a two-time Champions League winner, from stints at Porto and Inter, while tangible success was also savoured when working with Ronaldo and Co at Real Madrid.
Mourinho considers himself to be far from a spent force and made it clear when bidding farewell to Stadio Olimpico that he would be open to any enticing offers. He quickly distanced himself from speculation suggesting that he could follow fellow countryman Cristiano Ronaldo to the Saudi Pro League.
More on Mourinho
The chance to become a top-tier manager arrived in September 2000 when Mourinho moved up from his role as assistant manager at Benfica to replace manager Jupp Heynckes after the fourth week of the Primeira Liga.
The Benfica hierarchy wanted to appoint Jesualdo Ferreira as the new assistant coach, but Mourinho refused and picked Carlos Mozer, a retired Benfica defender, as his right-hand man instead.
Mourinho was then hand-picked by Porto to replace Octávio Machado on 23 January 2002.At this time, Porto was in fifth place in the Liga (behind Sporting CP, Boavista, União de Leiria and Benfica), had been eliminated from the Taça de Portugal and was in last place in their UEFA Champions League second group stage. Mourinho guided the team to third place that year after a strong 15-game run (including 11 wins) and gave the promise of “making Porto champions next year”.
He quickly identified several key players whom he saw as the backbone of what he believed would be a perfect Porto team: Vítor Baía, Ricardo Carvalho, Costinha, Deco, Dmitri Alenichev and Hélder Postiga. He recalled captain Jorge Costa after a six-month loan to Charlton Athletic. The signings from other clubs included Nuno Valente and Derlei from União de Leiria; Paulo Ferreira from Vitória de Setúbal; Pedro Emanuel from Boavista; and Edgaras Jankauskas and Maniche, who both had been out of contract at Benfica.
On 2 June 2004, Mourinho moved to Chelsea on a three-year contract, after a £1.7 million compensation package was agreed with Porto, making him the first Portuguese manager in the Premier League.
On 2 June 2008, Mourinho was appointed the successor of Roberto Mancini at Inter Milan on a three-year contract and brought along with him much of his backroom staff who had served him at both Chelsea and Porto.
On 28 May 2010, it was confirmed that Mourinho would take over from Manuel Pellegrini at the Santiago Bernabéu. On 31 May 2010, Mourinho was unveiled as the new manager of Real Madrid after signing a four-year contract, and became the eleventh manager at the club in the previous seven years.
On 27 May 2016, Mourinho signed a three-year contract with Manchester United, with an option to stay at the club until at least 2020. On 7 August 2016, Mourinho won his first trophy, the FA Community Shield, beating reigning Premier League champions Leicester City 2–1. Mourinho was victorious in his first Premier League game as United boss, winning 3–1 away to AFC Bournemouth on 14 August 2016.
On 20 November 2019, Mourinho was appointed as the manager of Tottenham Hotspur on a four-year contract, replacing the sacked Mauricio Pochettino.
On 4 May 2021, Mourinho was appointed head coach of Roma from the start of the 2021–22 season, replacing compatriot Paulo Fonseca
