Jose Mourinho has officially returned to management after agreeing a deal to take over Turkish side Fenerbahce.
In one of the worst kept secrets in football, the Portuguese football coach, who was sacked as Roma boss in January, was officially confirmed at his unveiling by the Turkish outfit on Sunday evening.
Tens of thousands of fans gathered at Fenerbahce’s Sukru Saracoglu Stadium to greet him, with Mourinho blowing a kiss to supporters, while he was even hugged on stage as his appointment was confirmed.
Mourinho held up the Fenerbahce shirt, declaring: ‘This shirt is now my skin. Your dreams are now my dreams’.
Mourinho has made no secret of his appointment at the side who finished second to Galatasaray this season, despite finishing on 99 points.
Jose Mourinho has officially been confirmed as the new manager of Turkish giants Fenerbahce
Mourinho blew a kiss to the fans that gathered for his official presentation
Mourinho held up the Fenerbahce jersey and declared ‘this shirt is now my skin’
Mourinho was hugged on stage by excited fans at his unveiling on Sunday evening
His unveiling took place in front of thousands of fans at Fenerbahce’s home stadium
Fans lit flares as they showed up in their thousands to celebrate Mourinho’s appointment
In a prior video on Fenerbahce’s social media accounts on Saturday, he said: ‘Merhaba (Hello) Fenerbahce fans. See you tomorrow at Kadikoy and let’s start our journey together.’ He was also pictured on their social media accounts landing in Turkey earlier on Sunday and heading to get his deal signed.
The appointment comes 20 years to the day that Mourinho was first revealed as Chelsea manager in which he said he was the ‘special one’.
On Sunday afternoon, Mourinho gave a thumbs up and a wave as he arrived at Istanbul’s airport where he was greeted by fans of the club.
Mourinho and his entourage left the airport again by helicopter alongside Fenerbahce president Ali Koc.
The Turkish side posted regular updates throughout the day of Mourinho’s arrival, with much excitement over having one of the greatest managers of this century at the helm of their club.
Mourinho waved at fans as he arrived in Turkey on Sunday afternoon
Mourinho landed in Turkey earlier today after revealing yesterday that he would be heading to get a deal signed today
Fenerbahce president Ali Koc, Mourinho and his entourage left the airport by helicopter in Istanbul
Fenerbahce fans greeted Mourinho at Istanbul’s airport with much excitement over the hiring
Fenerbahce finished second in the Turkish Super Lig last season to rivals Galatasaray
Mourinho also confirmed the news as part of TNT Sports’ Champions League coverage on Saturday night.
When asked by Laura Woods on whether he was close to agreeing a deal to become Fenerbahce’s next manager, the 61-year-old said to TNT Sports: ‘I would say that maybe I travel tomorrow.’
He also told Rio Ferdinand that the most famous person in his phonebook was the president of Fenerbahce.
Mourinho was also seen greeting Bellingham and his family after the match and appeared to take a picture with his mum, Denise.
The 20-year-old had comically exposed his mum’s crush on the Portuguese manager after he had asked if they could get a quick picture.
Mourinho previously confirmed he would be flying to Turkey during TNT Sports’ coverage of the Champions League final
Bellingham was overheard on TNT’s live broadcast hilariously saying to Mourinho: ‘Sorry about that, my mum’s fancied you for years.’
But in reply, Mourinho had two requests of his own, quipping that Bellingham should ‘now come to Fenerbahce’ after he had confirmed he was in talks with the Turkish outfit.
He then asked the Madrid star to go easy on the Turkish outfit if they crossed paths in next season’s Champions League.
Mourinho will be tasked with bringing glory back to Istanbul, and his track record speaks for itself.
Mourinho was sacked by Roma in January after previously leading them to the Europa Conference League
The appointment comes 20 years to the day that Mourinho said he was the ‘special one’ after being unveiled at Chelsea
Despite leaving Roma after a poor run of form earlier this year, he did previously win the Europa Conference League with the club.
He had earlier shared his thoughts on Fener’s tough route to make the Champions League group stage after failing to claim top spot in the league in 2023-24.
‘It’s hard because there are three rounds to go in qualification,’ he told Sky Sports. ‘And in Fenerbahce’s case, eight players are in the Euros and they are not coming for pre-season before the first round.
‘But if I go, you know that I like challenges. So if I go we’re going to fight to be in the Champions League.’
Mourinho has only gone trophyless in one of his last seven roles in management, at Tottenham.
He has won multiple league titles in his career, triumphing in England with Chelsea, Italy with Inter Milan, and Spain with Real Madrid. He also brought home the Champions League trophy in his final match with Inter in 2010.
Mourinho is believed to have earned around £80m from being sacked during his career. Reports said he pocketed £3m after being dismissed by Roma, some £16m less than when he lost his job at Manchester United.
