The reason why Jose Mourinho was sacked by Fenerbahce has been revealed by club president Ali Koc.
The Portuguese boss was relieved of his duties by the Turkish giants last Friday, barely a year after taking charge in Istanbul.
Defeat by Benfica in midweek, which ended Fenerbahce’s hopes of reaching the Champions League group stage, proved the final straw for the 61-year-old.
Mourinho still had a year left on his contract before it was terminated, meaning he is entitled to a hefty compensation package.
According to Turkish journalist Yagiz Sabuncuoglu, Mourinho will pocket £7.7million in severance – taking his total earnings from sackings alone to around a staggering £89m across his career.
But Koc has pointed to footballing reasons for the former Chelsea manager’s exit, with the 58-year-old keen to see his side now kick on from an attacking point of view.
The reasons behind Jose Mourinho’s high-profile sacked at Fenerbahce have been revealed
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Club chief Ali Koc has explained the two maintain a good relationship despite the decision
‘Attacking football wasn’t present last season,’ he said via Record. ‘We discussed these issues, and I thought we were in agreement.
‘When this season started, the performance we saw in the first five official games mirrored last season’s. Anyone could be eliminated by Benfica, but the way we played bothered me. That’s why it was such a risky and difficult decision.
‘Since we couldn’t see much light at the end of the tunnel regarding the championship, we had to make this difficult decision.
‘There were no complaints about his work ethic. He was a workaholic. There are no hard feelings on my part.’
Koc had previously spoken on his relationship with the Portuguese, and claims it’s still as good as when he was his employer.
As reported by Hurriyet, Koc said: ‘Why did we let go of Mourinho? I’m explaining it here for the first time. It was a bitter parting. Our chemistry was perfect, and his accomplishments are evident. Just being able to bring him here was a great achievement.
‘Above all, it was difficult to part with someone I was friends with. We knew our coach was a defensive player when we brought him in. But we talked about the need to play more dominantly at the end of the season. Earning 99 goals and 99 points is our genetic code.
A statement on Fenerbahce’s X account announcing the news read: ‘Our Professional Football team has parted ways with Jose Mourinho, who has been serving as head coach since the 2024-2025 season.
Mourinho will pocket £7.7million in severance – taking his total earnings from sackings alone to around a staggering £89m across his career
‘We thank him for his efforts for our team thus far and wish him success in his future career.’
With his exit, Mourinho raked in even more cash from the payout he received.
In his career, Chelsea have paid him more than £26m alone, with Mourinho having pocketed £18m when he was sacked at Stamford Bridge in 2007 and £8.3m following his second dismissal in 2015.
He was also given a £17m pay-off by Real Madrid and nearly £20m by Manchester United when he was binned in December 2018 – just months after he had signed a new two-year contract through to 2020.
An ill-fated 17-month stint at Tottenham also ended in the sack and a healthy £15m in compensation. He had another two years to run on his deal at Spurs when he was shown the door.
His payout from Roma was only around £3m, given he was out of contract at the end of the season.
Mourinho’s total figure dwarfs other managerial payouts. Antonio Conte, the Portuguese’s bitter rival, is thought to have earned around £37m in compensation during his career.
This includes a whopping £26m when he was axed by Chelsea in 2018.
Chelsea also paid out £13.6m to Luis Felipe Scolari in 2009 and £13m to Thomas Tuchel in 2022.
Laurent Blanc received £17m after his sacking by PSG in 2017, believed to be the fourth-highest managerial payout of all time.
