Mourinho arrives in Benfica as talks advance

Jose Mourinho arrived in Portugal on Wednesday night to waves of adoring fans as talks intensified over becoming Benfica's next manager. The 62-year-old is a free agent after Fenerbahce were dismissed following their failure to qualify for the Champions League, and reports say Benfica are hopeful a deal can be agreed within hours. Mourinho would return to his homeland 25 years after his first stint with Benfica, a chapter that helped propel him to elite managerial roles in Europe.

He touched down in Lisbon after flying from Barcelona and was photographed with a Benfica scarf draped around his neck as he spoke briefly to local reporters. “I have nothing to tell you,” he said. “Before I got on the plane, they asked me if I might be interested. I said yes, I might be interested.” He added, “If I return to Benfica, it won't be a career celebration, nor 25 years later, nor a return home. I left my previous club four weeks ago. If you ask me if I expected to stay until the end of the season without coaching, that's not in my nature. I wanted to join. I didn't want to say yes to a club that wasn't the right one, just because I'm a workaholic. When I was faced with the possibility of coaching Benfica, I didn't think twice about it, saying, ‘I'm interested, I'd like it’.”

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Benfica, who have just parted ways with Bruno Lage after a pedestrian start to the season, are eager to have a new coach in place for this weekend's trip to Vila das Aves. Club president Rui Costa said the change was driven by a need to reset after a trying week for supporters. “We have reached an agreement with Bruno Lage to step down as Benfica's coach. I thank him for everything he's done for our club, but we believe it's time for a change,” Costa said. “Regarding the next coach, we expect to have the new one on the bench at Vila das Aves next Saturday. We've had a tough week for all Benfica fans, after the match against Santa Clara and this match against Qarabag. We haven't compromised anything, we haven't dropped out of any competition, but I believe this is the time for a change. The Benfica coach must be a winner. He must be a coach who represents a club of this size and has the ability to bring this team to the required levels. We won't talk about names. Benfica is currently without a coach. The only thing that happened after the game was the conversation with Bruno Lage. No coach has been hired today.”

If a deal is completed, Mourinho would likely join a schedule that could pit him against familiar foes when Benfica travel to face Chelsea in the Champions League in about two weeks. The prospect of reuniting with Chelsea, one of the clubs where he achieved widespread acclaim, adds another layer of intrigue to the latest chapter in his storied career. Mourinho’s early career a decade and more ago at Benfica and Porto helped establish his reputation as a winner, and his name has long been linked with a return to Portugal in recent years.

The talks set against a backdrop of Benfica’s ambition to challenge at the highest level in domestic and European competition, and they come amid ongoing questions about how quickly the club can implement tactical and personnel changes to satisfy expectations at a club of Benfica’s stature. The timeline remains fluid, with A Bola and other outlets citing ongoing negotiations and the potential for a rapid resolution, though no official confirmation had been issued by the club by late Wednesday evening. Mourinho’s arrival in Lisbon, combined with the club’s public statements, suggests Benfica is inclined toward a prompt decision in the near term as it prepares for a key league match and a European group-stage schedule that could feature Chelsea.

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