Jose Mourinho agrees deal to return to Benfica after 25 years
By BBC, September 18, 2025Jose Mourinho has been appointed head coach of Benfica, signing a two-year deal with the Portuguese club.
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.
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.
His Benfica contract is until the end of the 2026/27 season but he and the club have a non-renewal option at the end of this campaign.
Mourinho has promised a more mature and less egocentric version of himself in his first press conference.
“Today I think a lot more about the others. I’m last in line. I’m here to serve,” he said. “I’m at a completely different moment as far as maturity. I’m not important. I’m more altruistic, less egocentric.
“I don’t think about me as much. I think more about what I can do for others.”
The 62-year-old said the only thing that hasn’t changed was his “desire to always win the next match.” He said returning to Benfica does not mean an intention to retire soon.
“I’ll only stop when I feel that something has changed,” he said. “And today I feel that I am hungrier than I was 25 years ago.”
Mourinho started his coaching career at Benfica in 2000 but lasted only three months before leaving in a contract dispute.
“I’m now the coach of one of the greatest clubs in the world,” he said. “None of the other giant clubs that I coached in the world made me feel so honoured and motivated as I am now as the coach of 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.