José Mourinho returns to management with Turkish giants Fenerbahce

José Mourinho poses on his plane's descent to Istanbul.

José Mourinho poses on his plane's descent to Istanbul. Credit: Fenerbahce SK

Double Champions League-winning manager José Mourinho has returned to football after a five-month hiatus as he takes the reins with Fenerbahce.

The Portuguese, who was sacked by Roma in January following a poor start to the Serie A season, will succeed Ismail Kartal.

Fenerbahce finished second to Istanbul rivals Galatasaray last season, with just one defeat in the league, but that was not enough to spare Kartal his job.

Mourinho, 61, won Champions League medals with Porto in 2004 and Internazionale in 2010, and also had successful spells with Real Madrid and Chelsea.

He also won the Europa Conference League in 2022 with Roma before missing out in the Europa League final on penalties to Sevilla the following year.

The new boss was accompanied to Istanbul by Fenerbahce director and former Shelbourne owner Acun Ilicali, who is the former part-owner of Premier Division leaders Shelbourne, on a flight from England on Saturday.

A Fenerbahce statement read: “World-famous Portuguese coach Jose Mourinho, who our club announced that he started negotiations for the coach of our Football A Team, came to Istanbul.

“Mourinho, who came to Istanbul by private plane departing from England, was accompanied by our President Ali Y. Koç, Mr. Acun Ilıcalı and our Sporting Director Mario Branco during the journey.

“The Portuguese coach, who was welcomed with cheers at Sabiha Gökçen Airport, greeted our fans and left with the helicopter allocated for him.”

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