The Japan Times - Mourinho sacked by Fenerbahce after Champions League exit

Mourinho, whose side were knocked out on Wednesday by Portuguese outfit Benfica, was sacked shortly after domestic rivals Besiktas fired another former Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

Besiktas on Thursday lost to Swiss side Lausanne and missed out on the third tier UEFA Conference League league phase.

Fenerbahce issued a short statement announcing the departure of Mourinho.

"We have parted ways with Jose Mourinho, who served as head coach of our professional A team since the 2024-2025 season. We thank him for his efforts for our team and wish him success in his future career," it said.

The former Chelsea, Real Madrid, Inter Milan, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur and Roma coach who arrived at the club in June 2024, led Istanbul's Yellow Canaries to second place in the league last season behind Galatasaray.

When the 62-year-old arrived in Istanbul 14 months ago, the self-proclaimed 'Special One' received a rockstar's welcome from fans decked out in Fenerbahce's yellow and black.

"No promises. But it is obvious that the main target, the main dream is to win the Turkish Super Lig," said the two-time Champions League winning coach when he arrived.

But he failed to make good on his dream of ending the title drought that has plagued the club since 2014.

Mourinho, whose recent coaching record at Spurs, Roma and now Fenerbahce has taken the sheen off his reputation, also had several setbacks during his time in Istanbul.

In April, he grabbed the face of Okan Buruk, coach at fierce local rivals Galatasaray after a 2-1 defeat in the Turkish Cup quarter finals, tweaking his nose.

He was fined for comments made after another explosive derby match against Galatasaray in which he also repeated criticism of Turkish referees, accusing the fourth referee of bias.

His remarks were judged as "contrary to sporting ethics".

In recent weeks, he appeared downcast at press conferences, regularly harping on about the limitations of his squad which clocked up 37 wins, 14 draws and 11 defeats during his tenure.

T.Ikeda--JT