José Mourinho has officially returned to management after reaching an agreement to take charge of Turkish club Fenerbahce.
In one of football’s worst-kept secrets, the Portuguese coach, sacked as Roma manager in January, was officially confirmed at his presentation by the Turkish team on Sunday night.
Mourinho has made no secret of his appointment to the team that finished second behind Galatasaray this season, despite finishing with 99 points.
In an earlier video on Fenerbahce’s social media accounts on Saturday, he said: ‘Merhaba (Hello) Fenerbahce fans. See you tomorrow in Kadikoy and let’s start our journey together.’ He has also been photographed on his social media accounts landing in Turkey today and heading to sign his deal.
The appointment comes 20 years to the day Mourinho was first revealed as Chelsea manager and said he was “the special one”.
José Mourinho has been officially confirmed as the next coach of Turkish Fenerbahce.
Mourinho landed in Türkiye today after revealing yesterday that he would head to sign an agreement today
Fenerbahce president Ali Koc, Mourinho and their entourage left Istanbul airport by helicopter.
Fenerbahçe fans received Mourinho at the Istanbul airport with great excitement about the signing.
Thousands of fans then gathered at the Sukru Saracoglu stadium to greet Mourinho at his official presentation.
Fenerbahce finished second in the Turkish Super League last season behind rival Galatasaray.
On Sunday, Mourinho gave a thumbs up and wave as he arrived at Istanbul airport, where he was greeted by the club’s fans.
Mourinho and his entourage left the airport again by helicopter together with the president of Fenerbahce, Ali Koc.
They headed to Fenerbahce’s Sukru Saracoglu stadium, where thousands of fans greeted Mourinho in his official presentation as the club’s new coach.
The Turkish team has been posting regular updates throughout the day of Mourinho’s arrival, with much excitement at having one of the best coaches of this century at the helm of their club.
Mourinho also confirmed the news as part of TNT Sports’ Champions League coverage on Saturday night.
When Laura Woods asked him if He was close to agreeing a deal to become Fenerbahce’s next coach, the 61-year-old told TNT Sports: “I would say maybe he will travel tomorrow.”
He also told Rio Ferdinand that the most famous person on his agenda was the president of Fenerbahçe.
Mourinho was also seen greeting Bellingham and his family after the match and appeared to take a photo with his mother, Denise.
The 20-year-old had comically exposed his mother’s crush on the Portuguese manager after he asked if they could take a quick photo of him.
Mourinho previously confirmed he would be flying to Turkey during TNT Sports’ coverage of the Champions League final.
Bellingham was heard on the TNT live broadcast hilariously telling Mourinho: “I’m sorry, my mom has liked you for years.”
But in response, Mourinho had two requests of his own, joking that Bellingham should “come to Fenerbahce now” after confirming he was in talks with the Turkish team.
He then asked the Madrid star to go easy on the Turkish team if they crossed paths in next season’s Champions League.
Mourinho will have the task of returning glory to Istanbul and his career speaks for itself.
Mourinho was fired by Roma in January after previously leading them to the Europa Conference League.
The appointment comes 20 years to the day Mourinho said he was the ‘special one’ after being introduced to Chelsea
Despite leaving Roma after a poor run of form earlier this year, he previously won the Europa Conference League with the club.
He had previously shared his opinion on Fener’s difficult path to reaching the Champions League group stage after failing to achieve first place in the league in 2023-24.
“It’s difficult because there are three qualifying rounds left,” he told Sky Sports. “And in the case of Fenerbahçe, eight players are in the Euro Cup and do not come to the preseason before the first round.
‘But if I go, you know I like challenges. So if I go we will fight to be in the Champions League.”
Mourinho has only been left without trophies in one of his last seven managerial positions, at Tottenham.
He has won multiple league titles throughout his career, triumphing in England with Chelsea, Italy with Inter Milan and Spain with Real Madrid. He also took home the Champions League trophy in his last game for Inter in 2010.
Mourinho is believed to have earned around £80m from being sacked during his career. Reports say he pocketed £3m after being sacked by Roma, some £16m less than when he lost his job at Manchester United.
