José Mourinho agrees two-year deal to return to Benfica

José Mourinho has agreed a two-year deal to become Benfica’s new head coach.

The 62-year-old will formally complete his return to the Estádio da Luz on Thursday, returning to the club where he started his managerial career a quarter of a century ago. 

It marks a swift return to the dugout for Mourinho, who was sacked by Fenerbahce barely a fortnight ago after the Turkish club were beaten – ironically, by Benfica – in a Champions League qualifying playoff. 

Almost 25 years to the day after he began his first stint in Lisbon, he will fill the vacancy created by the departure of Bruno Lage, who was fired following Tuesday’s Champions League defeat to Qarabag.

José Mourinho ‘didn’t think twice’ about rejoining Benfica

Benfica released a statement on Thursday morning informing the Portuguese Securities Market Commission that negotiations with Mourinho were underway and “expected to be concluded soon”.

The former Porto manager had previously confirmed he would be open to a return to his homeland, saying he “didn’t think twice” when confronted with the possibility of coaching Benfica.

“What I can confirm is that, before I caught the plane, Benfica asked me if I was interested in coaching them,” Mourinho told reporters on Wednesday. “I said yes. I said I was abroad and that when I returned to Portugal I would have all the interest in talking with them. 

“My nature is wanting to coach. I told myself that I wanted to balance myself emotionally. I didn’t want to say yes to the wrong club, just because I am a workaholic. 

“When asked if I wanted to coach Benfica, I did not think twice.”

José Mourinho set for swift reunion with former clubs Chelsea and Porto

Forthcoming fixtures against the two of his former clubs will ensure Mourinho almost immediately takes centre stage. Benfica travel to Chelsea in the Champions League at the end of the month, five days before an O Clássico meeting with Porto, the club he guided to the first of two Champions League titles he has won as a manager.

Mourinho returns to Lisbon after a glittering career that has taken in 26 major trophies across spells with Porto, Chelsea and Inter – with whom he won a historic treble of Serie A, Coppa Italia and Champions League titles – as well as Real Madrid, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur and Roma.

Mourinho’s first stint in charge at Benfica ended after less than three months when Manuel Vilarinho, newly appointed as club president, refused his request for a contract extension, prompting him to quit. In a quirk of fate, Mourinho once again joins the club at a moment when the presidency is up for grabs, with elections scheduled for next month. 

Will Benfica’s forthcoming presidential elections alter the outlook for José Mourinho?

Two of the leading candidates, Joao Noronha Lopes and Cristóvão Carvalho, have been linked with high-profile managerial appointments, respectively favouring Rubin Amorim and Jürgen Klopp. But Rui Costa, the incumbent and former Portugal international, appears to have blown his rivals out of the water by installing Mourinho – although he accepts that others may see things differently.

“Coaches are always on a temporary basis, unfortunately,” Costa reflected on Wednesday after announcing the departure of Lage. “With or without elections.”

It would nonetheless require courage bordering on recklessness to dispense with a coach who, however he may be viewed elsewhere in Europe, remains a revered figure in his homeland.