Portuguese coach José Mourinho has officially announced he will leave Benfica, and the Lisbon club confirmed that the deal was made with the Spanish club. Real Madrid will pay 15 million euros to release Mourinho and break his contract earlier than intended.
On an Instagram post, Mourinho thanked Benfica president Rui Costa "for the opportunity he gave me to work for Benfica. Representing this club was an honor and a privilege", and also thanked all the staff "whose professionalism, dedication and competence have been exemplary".
Mourinho had a bit more special words for his players: "My sincerest thanks and best wishes for their continued personal and professional growth. I leave with the conviction that, on more than one occasion, we forged a lasting relationship: a better player one day, a better player forever".
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One year ago, Mourinho left Fenerbahçe and returned to Benfica, which is the club where his managerial career started 25 years ago. Despite an impressive unbeaten run in the Portuguese league, Benfica ended in third place with 80 points, after 23 wins and 11 draws, behind Sporting and Porto, and missed the chance of playing in Champions League.
According to reports from AS, Mourinho's agent Jorge Mendes was key to facilitate the quick and relatively cheap deal between the two clubs, because Mendes is also the manager or Marco Silva, former Fulham coach, who has been hired by Benfica as Mourinho's replacement.