José Mourinho's spell at Istanbul club Fenerbahçe S.K has come to an end. The club has announced that "our Professional Football First Team's technical director, Jose Mourinho, who has been carrying out his duties starting from the 2024-2025 season, has parted ways with us".
"We thank him for his efforts for our team until today and wish him success in his future career", add the club in a statement, in a move that comes two days after Fenerbahçe was eliminated from Champions League by Benfica... curiously, Mourinho's first ever club as a manager 25 years ago.
Benfica, former European giants as they won European Cup, predecessor to Champions League in 1961 (beating Barcelona) and in 1962 (beating Real Madrid) and reached five other finals in 1963, 1965, 1968, 1988, 1990, qualified to Champions League through the play-off. They will play against Real Madrid, Chelsea, Leverkusen, and Juventus, among others, at the league phase.
Fenerbahçe, defeated 1-0 on Wednesday, will instead play Europa League, and will know their rivals this morning. However, Mourinho won't lead the team. What's next for him? He recently said he wanted to return to a Portuguese team when "at the peak of his career". Mourinho, 62, has worked at ten different teams since 2000.