Jose Mourinho sacked by Fenerbahce

Jose Mourinho has been relieved of his duties at Fenerbahce after just over a year in charge.

His departure comes two days after the Turkish club were eliminated from the Champions League play-offs by Benfica.

In a statement, Fenerbahce confirmed that Mourinho had “parted ways” with the club, thanking the 62-year-old for his efforts and wishing him well.

Mourinho, who has managed 10 clubs including Chelsea, Manchester United, and Tottenham, guided Fenerbahce to second place in the league during his sole season in charge.

However, his tenure was marked by controversy.

Champions Galatasaray announced they would “initiate criminal proceedings” against Mourinho after accusing him of making “racist statements” following a 0-0 draw in February.

Mourinho denied the allegations, calling himself the “opposite” of racist, and filed a lawsuit against the club seeking 1,907,000 Turkish Lira (£41,000) in damages.

The Portuguese coach was also a vocal critic of refereeing standards in Turkey and received a four-match ban—later reduced to two—for his comments after the Galatasaray clash.

Following a 1-1 Europa League draw with Manchester United in October, where he was sent off, Mourinho remarked he wanted to manage a team “at the bottom of the table in England” to avoid UEFA competitions.

Mourinho joined Fenerbahce after a three-year spell at Roma, where he won the Conference League in 2022—the club’s only European trophy.

He also had two spells at Chelsea, winning three Premier League titles, and won the Champions League with Inter Milan and Porto.

In 2017, he led Manchester United to Europa League success, their first and most recent European trophy.

His exit comes hours after another former Manchester United manager, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, was relieved of his duties at Besiktas following their UEFA Conference League play-off defeat to Swiss side Lausanne.