Jose Mourinho: Former Man Utd boss agrees deal to return to Benfica after 25 years

Jose Mourinho has agreed a two-year deal to become Benfica's new head coach.

The 62-year-old was sacked last month by Fenerbahce after just over a year in charge but has secured a swift return to management at the club where he was briefly in charge between September and December 2000.

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Mourinho, who has also enjoyed successful managerial spells in England, Spain and Italy, is set to take charge of his first training session on Thursday.

Mourinho replaces ex-Wolves boss Bruno Lage at Benfica after he was sacked following Tuesday's shock Champions League home defeat to Qarabag of Azerbaijan.

The three-time Premier League champion was sacked by Fenerbahce after he criticised the board for their transfer business ahead of their Champions League play-off against Benfica. Now, three weeks later, Mourinho takes charge of the side that played a part in bringing his spell in Turkey to an end.

Jose set for Chelsea reunion at Benfica

Mourinho will now face his former club Chelsea later this month, with Benfica visiting Stamford Bridge on September 30 in the Champions League.

The former Manchester United and Tottenham boss first came to prominence at Benfica's domestic rivals Porto, winning the UEFA Cup in 2003 and the Champions League in 2004.

He joined Chelsea soon after that Champions League success and steered the Blues to Premier League titles in 2005 and 2006, plus the 2015 crown in his second stint in charge.

He was a Champions League winner at Inter Milan in 2010 and, while he was unable to restore Man Utd to greatness, he did guide them to Europa League and League Cup success in 2017.

His time at Tottenham ended without a trophy, though he was sacked days before the team were due to take on Manchester City in the 2021 League Cup final.

He was a Conference League winner at Roma in 2022 before taking charge at Fenerbahce in the summer of 2024.

'Full circle for Mourinho'

Sky Sports News' Gary Cotterill:

"Jose Mourinho returns to the club he left 25 years ago, which was his first job in management.

"It didn't last too long, there were presidential elections. The new president who came in wanted to bring in somebody else back then. That's a little bit behind the thinking this time because there are presidential elections due again at Benfica, with the new president already putting out the name of Jose Mourinho.

"It's come full circle for Mourinho in terms of his 25 years of managerial history, and it's become full circle in the last month because Mourinho was sacked by Fenerbahce after he criticised the board for not bringing in the players he wanted ahead of their Champions League play-off defeat to Benfica over two legs, which they lost narrowly 1-0.

"That meant Fenerbahce went into the Europa League and not the Champions League. Now it seems that Mourinho may after all be in the Champions League with the team that knocked him out of the Champions League, this season.

"Benfica's next game in the Champions League is against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. If that's not enough, in December, Benfica are due to go to Newcastle. Another club close to Mourinho's heart, where Sir Bobby Robson became a favourite, under whom Mourinho worked for many years.

"Mourinho nearly joined Sir Bobby Robson at Newcastle because he wanted to bring him to the club when he first joined, but at that point, Mourinho was the manager of Benfica."

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