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There is never a dull moment in football as long as Jose Mourinho is involved.
The former Manchester United manager is never far from controversy – and the latest update from Turkey proves exactly that.
Sacked in the morning
Fabrizio Romano reveals the ‘Special One’ has left Fenerbahçe after the Super Lig club missed out on Champions League qualification this week.
Tweet: “BREAKING: Fenerbahçe part ways with José Mourinho as Portuguese head coach won’t continue at the club. The decision has been made after missing on qualification to Champions League.”
The Yellow Canaries lost 1-0 to Benfica on Wednesday night in the Champions League playoff, having drawn the first leg at home 0-0, sending the Portuguese club through and Mourinho towards the exit door.
The 62-year-old coach was appointed Fenerbahce manager in 2024, presiding over a second place finish the Super Lig last season, 11 points behind bitter rival Galatasaray. They were also eliminated from the Turkish cup at the quarter-final stage and lost to Rangers in the last sixteen of the Europa League.
All in all, it was a disappointing season for the Special One, who had arrived in Istanbul amid a wave of excitement and positivity, only for it to quickly sour – a feeling United fans will be empathic to after Mourinho’s turbulent time at the helm at Old Trafford.
Mourinho left United in 2018, to be replaced by Ole Gunnar Solsjkaer, who also departred a Turkish club this week after being let go by Besiktas in a similar scenario to his Portuguese colleague after missing out on European football.
Mourinho would go on to manage Tottenham Hotspur and AS Roma after leaving United, winning the Conference League with the Italian club in 2022.
A Return to the Premier League?
Mourinho’s reputation continues to proceed his quality as a coach at this later stage of his glittering career.
He has been linked with an explosive return to England as he had “one eye on” on the Premier League before his departure from Fenerbahce.
Nottingham Forest are the side most strongly linked with the 62-year-old as their current manager, Nuno Espirito Santo, has admitted to a breakdown in relationship with the club’s owner, Evangelos Marinakis.
Marinakis is one of English football’s most divisive and controversial figures – and the prospect of him appointing a coach with the storied history of Mourinho would constitute a guaranteed box-office spectacle for however long the partnership lasted.
Featured image Ahmad Mora via Getty Images
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