Former Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur manager Jose Mourinho is the new Fenerbahce manager – and he’s set to pick up an eye-watering salary in Turkey.
The Portuguese tactician has ended his three-month hiatus from the dugout and will manage in the Turkish Super Lig next season. The announcement comes after Mourinho hit the screens on Saturday for his role as a pundit in the Champions League final between Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid.
He will return to the hot seat for the first time after he was sacked by AS Roma and replaced by Daniele De Rossi. Mourinho led the Italian side to a historic Europa Conference League triumph, beating Feyenoord in the final, but was relieved of his duties a few months shy of his third anniversary in the capital.
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On Sunday, Mourinho was unveiled as the new Fenerbahce boss, a move that will see him return to the Champions League next season. The Turkish side made headlines for their second-place league finish last season, losing just once in the league and accumulating 99 points but still failing to win the league. Rivals Galatasaray claimed Turkish top-flight success instead, which prompted the exit of head coach Ismail Kartal.
According to outlet Fanatik, Mourinho will earn a reported €10million (£8.5m) per year, or around £163k per week not including bonuses, while his assistants said to receive two million euros (£1.7m) a year. After his announcement, he said: “First of all I want to thank you for your love.
“Your love that I feel from the first moment that my name was connected with Fenerbahce. Normally, a coach is loved after victories but in this case I feel I am loved before victories.
“And that for me is a big responsibility that I feel and I promise you that from this moment I belong to your family. This shirt is my skin. Football is passion and there is no better place to feel that passion.
“Since the moment I met with the president, I wanted to play for you because in the end you are the soul of the football club. Since I met him, I understood his project and I want to be the coach of all of you.
“I want to work for Turkish football. I want to work for the Turkish league which I want to improve but the most important thing is not Turkish football or the league it is Fenerbahce.”