Jose Mourinho, one of the greatest managers in football history, could make his return to Benfica as their new manager after the sacking of Bruno Lage following their 3-2 UEFA Champions League (UCL) 2025-26
season opener defeat against Qarabag last night. After taking a two-goal lead at Estadio da Luz against their opponents from Azerbaijan, they went on to suffer a shock loss from their home fans, which forced the hand of the club hierarchy.
As per the report from BBC Sport, it is understood that the Benfica President Rui Costa wants to get the new manager for the club’s first team on board by Saturday, September 20, but at the time, he isn’t giving much heed about Jose Mourinho being their preference as speculated. The 62-year-old is in talks with Benfica about making his triumphant return to home country of Portugal as the new manager after 21 years.
A Benfica coach's profile must be that of a winner: Rui Costa, Benfica President
It was just last month when Fenerbahce sacked Jose Mourinho as their manager after his team coincidentally lost to Benfica in the UCL 2025-26 play-off round. Rui Costa was quoted as saying about their managerial preference, “A Benfica coach's profile must be that of a winner. A coach representing a club of this size must be one with the ability to bring this team to the levels we demand and give us the titles we desire.”
"There's no point in talking about names here. No coach has been appointed, nor has any coach been mentioned to represent Benfica in the future,” he added. Notably, Jose Mourinho began his managerial career with Benfica in 2000, but after working with the first team on 10 matches, he left them due to a dispute with their then club president.
From that point onwards, he went on to manage the likes of Porto, Chelsea, Inter Milan, Real Madrid, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur, Roma, and lastly, Fenerbahce.
