Jose Mourinho has played down reports that he is earning £15million per year at Benfica, insisting that he would make more money if he ‘had stayed at home’.
Mourinho, 62, was unveiled as the new Benfica manager last week, as he signed a two-year contract at the club where he started his managerial career in 2000.
The Portuguese coach has been a free agent since being sacked by Fenerbahce last month following their failure to qualify for the Champions League, before he opted to take over from Bruno Lage at the Lisbon-based club.
Reports had been circulating in Portugal that Mourinho was set to earn almost £30m across the two seasons she is set to be in charge. It had been suggested that he would make £14m in the first campaign, and a further £15.7m in the second.
However, Mourinho has now emphatically shut down suggestions that he has such a lucrative contract and is instead ‘in the red’ due to taking the job back in his motherland.
He said: ‘If I had stayed at home until the end of the season, I would have earned more than I did at Benfica. It’s that simple.
Jose Mourinho has played down suggestions that he he is earning a mega salary at Benfica
Mourinho, 62, has penned a two-year deal at Benfica and reports previously suggested he could earn almost £30m during the contract
‘If I had enjoyed time with my family, stayed in London, brought them here, gone to the Algarve, and made a few trips, I would have earned more. I’m not even here for nothing; I’m in the red.
‘And why? Because I really enjoy working. I missed playing for what Benfica is playing for: for the title. I couldn’t do that in Rome, nor at Fenerbahce. It’s a unique opportunity for me as a coach and as a person. Staying at home is not for me.’
Mourinho, who took charge of Benfica for 10 matches in 2000 before leaving amid boardroom changes, has picked up four points from his first two matches in the Portuguese top flight since returning to the club.
This is now the 12th stint of the Portuguese coach’s managerial career, in which he has managed 10 clubs.
His career in the dugout has been laden with silverware. Mourinho has won the Champions League with Porto, two Premier League titles in his first stint at Chelsea, and further trophies with Inter Milan, Real Madrid, Manchester United, and Roma before his most recent spell at Fenerbahce.
But Mourinho is not done yet, far from it. When questioned on why he would continue in the job if he is losing money, he made it clear that cash is not the only currency of reward in this sport.
‘Putting myself to the test, taking risks, being subject to winning, losing, being very good one day and terrible the next,’ he continued. ‘These are things that fuel me and take me out of my comfort zone.
‘If a lie is repeated enough times, people think it’s true. In this case, the truth is: if I stayed at home until July, I would earn more than I did at Benfica.’
Benfica have picked up four points from six in Mourinho’s first two games at the helm
Regardless of any salary figures thrown about regarding Mourinho and his contract at Benfica, there is no guarantee that he will see out the full two years he has committed to at the club.
An exit clause in the former Chelsea manager’s contract has come to light in the past week, suggesting that he may not see the start of next season.
A report by Portuguese media outlet Record has disclosed that ‘either party can terminate the contract’ during the initial 10-day period after the end of the current season.
If the renewed partnership does not go to plan and they decide to part ways during that period, Benfica would pay ‘significantly lower costs’ when terminating Mourinho’s deal at the club.
The compensation fee to dismiss Mourinho would be markedly lower in comparison to if they waited until after the conclusion of the season.
The clause also encompasses the scenario in which Mourinho opts to resign from his position. If that’s the direction he takes, it is believed that he would have to pay the ‘equivalent amount’ to the club.
