Jose Mourinho will return to management with Fenerbahce next season with Turkish club confirming his surprise appointment.
Mourinho is unemployed since he was fired per Gypsy in January. The 61-year-old has been in charge of the Serie A club since 2021, leading them to the trophy in the inaugural Europa Conference League and reaching last season’s Europa League final.
But the club from the Italian capital overtook Mourinho after falling to ninth in the table, and substitute Daniele De Rossi subsequently led them to the European qualifying places.
The old one Chelsea, Manchester United and the Tottenham manager will now look to restart his coaching career in Istanbul, replacing Ismail Kartal after a trophyless season with Fenerbahçe.
The appointment was widely followed with the club posting a video on Saturday night in which the 61-year-old said “See you tomorrow in Kadikoy and let’s start our journey together.”
On Sunday, the club posted an image on social media featuring an image of Portuguese coach Mourinho and the words “The Special One. Welcome to Fenerbahçe.”
The club also announced on X that its stadium would be open for fans to watch the signing ceremony on Sunday night.
Mourinho appeared to confirm his new role by acting as a commentator for TNT Sports during coverage of the Champions League final on Saturday night.
During an interview on the Wembley pitch, fellow commentator Rio Ferdinand asked him: “Who is the most famous person in your phone book?”
After initially not understanding the question, Mourinho pondered for a second before saying: “At the moment he is the president of Fenerbahçe”, causing Ferdinand to laugh.
Fenerbahçe finished three points behind Super Lig champions Galatasaray and have gone a decade without winning the Turkish title.
Mourinho follows recent Portuguese colleagues Vitor Pereira and Jorge Jesus in taking charge at the Sukru Saracoglu Stadium. He will be reunited with midfielder Fred, signed from Manchester United for £52 million in 2018 under Mourinho, while former Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko is currently club captain.
The Independent reported this week that Mourinho was in talks to join Amazon’s coverage of the Champions League next season, although his new role seems to put that in doubt.
Fenerbahçe will enter the competition in the second round of the qualifying phase, with the draw taking place on June 19, and Mourinho spoke of the difficulty they face in reaching the group stage.
“(It’s) difficult because we have three qualifying rounds and in the case of Fenerbahce, eight players are in the Euros and don’t come for pre-season before the first round,” he said on Saturday night.
“If I go, you know I like challenges, so we will fight to be in the Champions League.”
Additional PA Reports
