After his exit from AS Roma in January following a 1-3 loss to AC Milan, the Portuguese manager sought a new opportunity.
Despite winning the Europa Conference League in 2022 with Roma, Mourinho did not have a club. “I’m free, but I want to work next summer. I can coach anywhere,” he said recently about his future.
Few clubs made progress with the 61-year-old manager. Rumours linked him to Benfica and a Premier League return, but Mourinho did not find an interesting project. Recently, his name surfaced in Turkey, where Fenerbahçe expressed interest. Aziz Yıldırım, running for Fenerbahçe’s presidency, claimed contact with Mourinho, promising him big signings.
However, on Saturday, Beşiktaş’s second president, Hüseyin Yücel, countered. “About a month ago, I met José Mourinho in Istanbul, and he welcomed our offer. I told him I wanted him at Beşiktaş. I said he suited Beşiktaş’s chemistry. Mourinho said he would evaluate the offer, follow Beşiktaş, and get back to us. Mourinho responded later, saying he would like to meet again in Italy next week,” Yücel assured.
“As Beşiktaş, we met Mourinho’s financial expectations. We work on sponsorships specifically. We are ready to meet his salary demands. We will evaluate Mourinho’s case within the board. We will have a final meeting in Italy next week. If we reach an agreement with Mourinho, we will recommend including Ricardo Quaresma in the team,” added the Beşiktaş leader.
Beşiktaş seems ahead of its competitor, but one thing is clear: Turkey has become a likely destination for the ‘Special One.’
