Jose Mourinho has agreed a two-year deal to manage the Turkish giants Fenerbahce and will be reunited with his former assistant Ricardo Formosinho with whom he last worked at Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur.
Mourinho, 61, will appear on TNT Sport tonight as a pundit in its coverage of the Champions League final at Wembley having agreed a two-year deal at Fenerbahce who are under pressure to win their first Super Lig title since 2014.
Mourinho is expected to take a familiar staff with him including Formosinho, 67, a former Portuguese player and manager who first worked with Mourinho as part of his staff 20 years earlier when they won the Champions League with Porto.
Other Mourinho staff are expected to be regulars such as fitness coaches Carlos Lalin and Stefano Rapetti and analyst Giovanni Cerra. All worked with Mourinho at his previous job at Roma. Fenerbahce will announce a full staff roster, including those staying at the club from the previous regime, when they make the official Mourinho appointment announcement in the next 48 hours.
Mourinho goes to the Turkish club – his 11th appointment at 10 clubs over 20 years – with great expectation. There is a presidential election in the coming week which sees incumbent Ali Koç up against Aziz Yildirim and both men fully supportive of the new manager having waged a robust campaign. The club has finished second for the last three seasons and is under huge pressure to deliver a title-winning season in 2024-2025 against rivals Galatasaray.
There are also Champions League qualifiers for Fenerbahce beginning on the July 23 when the club enters the second round.
Formosinho has had a remarkable 34-year coaching career and since 2022 has worked in Morocco, the Sudan Premier League, the Bolivian Primera Division and most recently the Modern Future FC of Cairo. He has also coached in Saudi Arabia, Vietnam, Angola and Malaysia among others. Like Mourinho he is from the Portuguese city of Setubal.
Olivia Martin is a dedicated sports journalist based in the UK. With a passion for various athletic disciplines, she covers everything from major league championships to local sports events, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis.
