José Mourinho said on Saturday that he wants to become Fenerbahce‘s new head coach after the Turkish Super Lig club earlier confirmed that negotiations with the Portuguese manager were underway.
“Not yet, not yet. I decided I want to go but it is not done yet. I cannot confirm officially, but yes I want to go,” Mourinho told Sky Sports when asked about the reports linking him with the Fenerbahce job.
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Mourinho, who has been in charge of some of the biggest clubs in Europe, is set to take over a team that finished second in the Super Lig — three points behind champions and Istanbul rivals Galatasaray.
If he is appointed, Mourinho would replace Turkish boss Ismail Kartal, who oversaw just one loss in the league, but six draws proved to be costly in the title race.
“[Reaching the Champions League groups stages will be] hard because we have three rounds to go in qualification and in Fenerbahce’s case, eight players are in the Euros and they are not coming for preseason before the first round [of matches],” Mourinho said. “So hard. But, if I go, you know that I like challenges. So if I go we are going to fight to be in the Champions League.”
Earlier on Saturday, Fenerbahce confirmed that they were in negotiations to bring the Portuguese manager to the club.
“Negotiations have started with José Mario Dos Santos Mourinho Felix for the position of coach,” the club said in a statement to the Public Disclosure Platform (KAP).
Mourinho, who has won trophies with Porto, Chelsea, Inter Milan, Real Madrid and Manchester United, will be tasked with helping Fenerbahce to win their first league title since the 2013-14 season.
The 61-year-old also helped Roma to clinch their first European trophy when they won the third-tier Europa Conference League in 2022, while he also guided them to the Europa League final the following year, losing to Sevilla on penalties.
But he was sacked in January this year when Roma were ninth in Serie A. He was replaced by former Italy player Daniele De Rossi and Roma eventually finished sixth to qualify for the Europa League.
Information from Reuters contributed to this report
