The Fenerbahçe board has reportedly reached an deal with Jose Mourinho to sign a contract that will see the Portuguese coach take over the reins of the Turkish club for the next two years, according to Turkish media and other sources, who claim that the club will make the signing official in the coming hours and that current Fenerbahçe president Ali Koç plans to meet face-to-face with the Portuguese coach in London tomorrow, Saturday.
Koç, who is standing as a candidate for Fenerbahçe president at the club’s general assembly on 8-9 June, would seek with this star signing to secure his re-election against his main rival, former president Aziz Yıldırım, whom Koç himself dethroned in 2018. Several sources in Turkey indicate that the contract would be for 2 years with a total cost of around 23 million euros per season (before taxes).
Turkish media had already reported in the last few hours that Koç and Fenerbahçe sporting director Mario Branco would have informed the team’s current coach, İsmail Kartal, of the decision to terminate the contract that tied him to the club after the Istanbul team fell just short of winning the league title, which was eventually won by Galatasaray.
2-year contract with Fenerbahçe, but on one condition
Following the instructions of his president, Branco has already set to work to find a new coach for next season, and has initiated the first contacts with Mourinho about a week ago; Koç has also spoken to the Portuguese via teleconference – according to Turkish press reports – to explain his ideas and objectives for the club, and has convinced the Portuguese coach to sign a two-year contract with an option to renew for a third year.
In order to close the deal, Koç plans to travel to London tomorrow to watch the Champions League final and meet Mourinho there to sign the deal with ‘someone special’, according to the Turkish press, pending an official announcement from Fenerbahçe, which is expected soon.
For his part, Mourinho has not been sitting on his hands either, with Turkish media claiming that he has already been gathering information about Fenerbahçe and watching their recent games to take notes about the team; the Portuguese has also been gathering information about the Turkish club from several former Fenerbahçe players.
Finally, some media in Turkey have reported in recent hours that Mourinho has made a ‘special request’ to Fenerbahçe as a condition for signing the contract. According to these sources, the requirement would be the inclusion of a clause in the contract whereby the Portuguese coach would be released if he receives an offer to coach the Portuguese national team: an option that was already proposed to him while he was coaching Roma, and which he then rejected; since them, Mourinho has subsequently expressed his regret for what he considers to have been a bad decision.
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Edited and reviewed by:
Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
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