Jose Mourinho has admitted that joining Fenerbahce was a “mistake” and claimed the Turkish giants were not on his “level.”
The 62-year-old made the comments after being unveiled as Benfica’s new manager, following Bruno Lage’s dismissal.
The former Chelsea and Manchester United boss, who was sacked by Fenerbahce last month after just over a year in charge, is back at the club where he began his managerial journey.
Speaking to Abola, Mourinho reflected on his decision to move to Turkey:
“My career so far has been rich; I’ve coached the biggest clubs in the world, in different countries. I made the wrong choice; sometimes I don’t have the right word in Portuguese… no regrets, because regrets don’t help us at all in life, but the awareness of what we did well and what we did wrong exists. I made a mistake going to Fenerbahçe; it wasn’t my cultural level, it wasn’t my football level, it wasn’t my level. Obviously, I gave everything until the last day. Obviously, I had to mourn, like Bruno [Lage] is doing now, because nobody likes to leave, but coaching Benfica is returning to my level, and my level is coaching the biggest clubs in the world.”
Mourinho, who previously guided Porto to Champions League glory, did not stop at calling his Fenerbahce move a mistake. He also criticised their transfer dealings, pointing to a lack of balance in the squad he inherited.
“At my previous club, things were easy. I wanted to play with four players, but the club signed five players the day after I left. While I was there, it was impossible to play with four defenders when the team had seven central defenders. And only one winger. I adapt very well to what’s available. I praised Benfica’s squad and will do so again. If you ask me if I tried to play with words and emotions, to take the pressure off my team and apply that pressure, obviously, I did. But I don’t take back a word of what I said at the time, that Benfica had done a great job in the transfer market, endowing the team with potential that, perhaps, it lacked last season. As I said yesterday, I’m better, but I’m not exactly a great example of fair play. When I lose, I bite my fingers. It wasn’t very easy for me to congratulate Benfica, Bruno [Lage], Benfica deserved all of that, I recognize what happened.”
