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Jose Mourinho has reached a “verbal agreement” to become Benfica manager as the ‘Special One’ returns to the club he began his illustrious career at, Fabrizio Romano reveals.
Coming Full Circle
While Mourinho is most well-known for his triumphant exploits with Porto, Benfica’s bitter rival, but it was in fact the Lions who the 62-year-old first managed in 2000 – for the grand total of ten games.
True to form, a dispute with the Benfica president led Mourinho to resign as manager, going on to take over at Porto two years later.
At the Estádio do Dragão, the Portuguese coach would win six trophies, including the legendary Champions League run in the 2003/04 season, knocking out Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United side en route.
Mourinho would go on to manage Chelsea, Inter Milan and Real Madrid before a return to Stamford Bridge in 2014.
And it was after this second spell with Chelsea that Mourinho would be hired as manager at Old Trafford – a controversial move which many senior figures in the club disagreed with, given his contentious personality and footballing philosophy.
Mourinho would enjoy a strong debut campaign with the Red Devils, winning the Europa League, Carabao Cup and Community Shield, despite the team finishing 6th in the Premier League table.
But, as has become customary throughout his fiery career, Mourinho would begin to burn bridges with his squad over the next two years, engaging in a constant blame game in the media.
This reached a crescendo in December 2018, his notorious ‘third’ season with United, and the club moved to dismiss him. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was hired a few days later as interim manager.
This point marked a change in the level of club willing to take on the circus Mourinho’s hiring entails.
Tottenham took the risk but sacked him before a Carabao Cup final – a damning indictment on a manager famed for his success in cup competitions. He then moved to AS Roma, winning the Europa Conference League with the Serie A club, before he also ran his course in the Italian capital.
This then led Mourinho to Turkey where he took over at Fenerbahce. But the 62-year-old could do little to get his side to compete with bitter rivals Galatasaray, and a defeat in the qualifiers for the Champions League last month saw the club President move to replace him.
But Mourinho has marked an immediate return to management with Benfica after the Portuguese giant sacked Bruno Lage earlier this week.
A two year deal
Benfica fell to a disappointing 3-2 defeat to Azerbaijan side Qarabag in the Champions League on Tuesday night, despite leading the game 2-0 after 16 mins.
This led president Rui Costa to swiftly dismiss Lage in the early hours of Wednesday morning, with Mourinho immediately linked as the replacement.
And Romano has now given his trademark “here we go!” to the return for the ‘Special One’, who has reached a verbal agreement on a two-year contract with the Lions.
🚨🦅 BREAKING: José Mourinho to Benfica, here we go! Verbal agreement until June 2027.
Mourinho has accepted Benfica proposal and the formal steps will follow in next 24h.
Two year contract ready for the Special One as Benfica coach. ❤️🤍 pic.twitter.com/7ZUadcEr5e
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) September 17, 2025
Tweet: “BREAKING: José Mourinho to Benfica, here we go! Verbal agreement until June 2027. Mourinho has accepted Benfica proposal and the formal steps will follow in next 24h. Two year contract ready for the Special One as Benfica coach.”
On the immediate horizon for Benfica with their larger-than-life new manager? Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in the Champions League at the end of the month.
Sometimes football just writes itself.
Featured image Ahmad Mora via Getty Images
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