Mourinho sacked by Fenerbahce after Champions League exit

Fenerbahce have parted ways with legendary manager Jose Mourinho just six games into the 2025/26 Turkish Super Lig season, following the club’s failure to qualify for the UEFA Champions League league phase.

The announcement, comes as a shock after the Portuguese tactician’s high-profile appointment in June 2024. The decision was triggered by a 1-0 aggregate defeat to Benfica in the Champions League play-off round, relegating Fenerbahce to the Europa League.

In a brief statement on their official X and Instagram accounts, Fenerbahce declared, “We have parted ways with Jose Mourinho, who has served as head coach of our Professional Football First Team since the 2024-2025 season. We thank him for his efforts for our team and wish him success in his future career.”

Mourinho, 62, arrived in Istanbul amid fanfare, with thousands of supporters packing Sukru Saracoglu Stadium for his unveiling, hopeful that the “Special One” would end Fenerbahce’s 11-year title drought and challenge rivals Galatasaray’s recent dominance.

Despite guiding the team to a second-place finish in the 2024/25 Super Lig season, 11 points behind champions Galatasaray, Mourinho’s tenure was marked by turbulence. The team exited the Turkish Cup in the quarterfinals and fell to Rangers in the Europa League round of 16, failing to deliver silverware.

The final straw came on Wednesday, when Fenerbahce lost 1-0 to Benfica in the Champions League play-off second leg in Lisbon, following a 0-0 draw in Istanbul.

Speaking after the defeat, Mourinho acknowledged the superiority of the opposition, stating, “We lost against a team that is better than us. We had chances, but then we were reduced to 10 men and the game was over.”

However, the club’s board, frustrated by the lack of progress and Mourinho’s public criticism of their transfer policy, acted swiftly to terminate his two-year contract, reportedly at a cost of €15 million in compensation.

Despite an unbeaten start to the Super Lig campaign, with four points from two matches, including a 3-1 win over Kocaelispor, Fenerbahce’s board deemed the Champions League failure unacceptable. The club’s absence from Europe’s elite competition now extends to 17 seasons, intensifying pressure from fans and stakeholders.

Mourinho’s departure marks his shortest professional stint since his brief spells at Benfica and Uniao de Leiria early in his career, with only 62 matches managed, yielding 37 wins, 14 draws, and 11 losses.

Speculation about his next move is already rife, with former Manchester United scout Mick Brown suggesting to Football Insider that Mourinho could be “open” to a return to the Premier League, specifically mentioning Nottingham Forest as a potential destination amid tensions between their manager Nuno Espirito Santo and owner Evangelos Marinakis.

Mourinho, a two-time Champions League winner and one of football’s most iconic figures, finds himself back on the market, leaving behind a chaotic chapter in Istanbul.