Mourinho sacked by Fenerbahce after Champions League exit
Fenerbahce have parted ways with Jose Mourinho after the club failed to qualify for the group stage of the UEFA Champions League.
The Turkish giants were eliminated at the play-off stage, losing 1-0 on aggregate to Portuguese side Benfica. The club’s board responded swiftly, announcing Mourinho’s departure in an official statement.
“Jose Mourinho has parted ways with our club. We thank him for his efforts and wish him success in his future career,” the statement read.
Mourinho, 62, had only spent one season in charge of Fenerbahce, leading them to a second-place finish in the Super Lig. Despite a respectable league campaign, his tenure was overshadowed by controversy both on and off the pitch.
Earlier this year, Galatasaray announced plans to initiate legal action against Mourinho, accusing him of making “racist statements” following a fiery goalless derby in February. The Portuguese coach strongly denied the allegations, insisting he was “the opposite” of racist, and subsequently filed a counter-lawsuit against Galatasaray seeking damages of 1,907,000 Turkish Lira (£41,000).
Mourinho was also outspoken about refereeing standards in Turkey, a stance that earned him disciplinary sanctions. He received a four-match suspension for comments made after the Galatasaray clash, which was later reduced to two games.
In European competition, he was sent off during Fenerbahce’s 1-1 Europa League draw with Manchester United last October. After the game, Mourinho joked that he would prefer to manage a struggling Premier League club “at the bottom of the table” in order to avoid UEFA tournaments altogether.
Mourinho had joined Fenerbahce following a three-year spell at Roma, where he guided the Italian side to their first-ever European trophy by winning the UEFA Europa Conference League in 2022.
The former Chelsea, Manchester United, and Tottenham boss is now out of work again, and attention will turn to where one of football’s most decorated – and controversial – managers might land next.
