Jose Mourinho has aimed another dig at Turkish football, highlighting his impressive record in Europe, while also discussing his Fenerbahce future.
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Portuguese coach ending season empty-handedStill has a year left to run on his contractExpects to honour that while challenging for titlesFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?
Enigmatic Portuguese coach Mourinho is destined to end the 2024-25 campaign empty-handed in Istanbul. He has seen arch-rivals Galatasaray claim the Super Lig title, while Europa League heartache was endured at the last-16 stage against Rangers.
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Mourinho, who famously billed himself as ‘The Special One’ at Chelsea, has grown accustomed to toasting trophy triumphs in any given campaign. Questions are inevitably being asked of whether he still has it in him to win more.
WHAT JOSE MOURINHO SAID
The 62-year-old has snapped back at that suggestion, pointing to his impressive CV when saying in the wake of a 4-2 defeat to Hatayspor: “In the last seven years, I’ve played in more European finals than Turkish football has in its entire history. With Fenerbahce, we even fought for a spot in last season’s Champions League, but the summer was tough for us. We were knocked out in the final moments – on a penalty.
“Next summer, we’ll fight to reach the Champions League [again]. We need to go through qualification and play-offs. We must prepare as best as possible for those matches.”
AFPDID YOU KNOW?
It has been suggested that Mourinho may be tempted to walk away from a testing spell in Turkey, but he has offered no indication that a contract through to 2026 will be broken. He added on his future: “Whether something is true or not, or even half-true — it didn’t come from me. I have no contact with the press and never disclose any meetings with the president or the board.
“I can show you an interview our president gave a few weeks ago. In it, he asked me to stay. The president trusts me — that’s well known. If the situation has changed, I haven’t been informed.”