Jose Mourinho eyes Chelsea, Real Madrid reunions after ‘opening doors’ to sensational return
Jose Mourinho is close to a return to management, less than a month after he was sacked by Fenerbahce.
Mourinho was dismissed by the Turkish giants on August 29 after their defeat to Benfica in Champions League qualifying.
And now the 62-year-old is in ‘advanced talks’ to join the club that knocked Fenerbahce out, according to Fabrizio Romano.
Indeed, Benfica sacked head coach Bruno Lage on Wednesday morning and Mourinho is open to replacing the former Wolverhampton Wanderers boss.
Romano wrote on X: “BREAKING: Benfica are in advanced talks with José Mourinho after Bruno Lage got sacked overnight! Understand Mourinho has opened doors to Benfica move as he wants to return to coaching immediately. The agreement could be sealed soon.”
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Lage was dismissed following Benfica’s defeat to Azerbaijani side Qarabag on matchday one in the Champions League on Tuesday.
It was Qarabag’s first-ever Champions League victory (non-qualifying) as they came from 2-0 down to win 3-2 at the Estadio da Luz.
Club president Rui Costa wants a new head coach in place before Saturday’s Liga Portugal match against but refused to be drawn on speculation that Mourinho is his preferred option.
“Benfica coach’s profile must be that of a winner,” Costa said.
“A coach representing a club of this size must be one with the ability to bring this team to the levels we demand and give us the titles we desire.
“There’s no point in talking about names here. No coach has been appointed, nor has any coach been mentioned to represent Benfica in the future.”
Mourinho’s first job in management was with Benfica, replacing Jupp Heynckes in September 2000. He only managed nine league games before resigning after the club refused to offer him a new contract.
After incredible success at FC Porto, Chelsea, Inter, Real Madrid and Chelsea again between 2002 and 2015, Mourinho won trophies at Manchester United and AS Roma.
He also managed Tottenham Hotspur from November 2019 to April 2021, astonishingly losing his job days before the Carabao Cup final against Manchester City.
After two-and-a-half years in charge of Roma, Mourinho joined Turkish Super Lig side Fenerbahce and lasted one full season in charge before being sacked two league games and two Champions League qualifying rounds into 2025/26.
Mourinho is now ironically close to joining the club that cost him his job and will return to the Champions League for the first time since 2019/20, when Tottenham reached the last 16.
Benfica’s easiest match of the league phase ended in defeat and Mourinho has some incredibly testing fixtures coming up if he is appointed.
Their next fixture is against none other than away to Chelsea, whom Mourinho won seven major trophies with across two spells.
Benfica return to England three weeks later to take on Newcastle United, before home matches against Bayer Leverkusen, Italian champions Napoli and another one of Mourinho’s former clubs, Real Madrid.
The Portuguese giants also face Ajax and Juventus away from home.
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