The Special One is a free agent once again. Just days after missing out on a place in this season’s Champions League proper courtesy of a 1-0 aggregate defeat to Benfica, Jose was unceremoniously sacked by Fenerbahce.
Mourinho has never been one to stay at a club beyond a few seasons, he’s there for a good time, not a long one. Unfortunately, those good times aren’t as common as they once were, and the man who once won it all is starting to look like a man out of time.
He won’t think that’s the case, however, and Jose will doubtless want to get back on the horse, regardless of the reported £89 million in compensation from clubs after being sacked.
So, what next for one of the game’s greatest ever managers?
A return to the Premier League?
Links with a return are inevitable, in fact, they’ve already started.
Graham Potter is under immense pressure at West Ham, although a 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest has eased it somewhat. The East Londoners also managed to spend some money in the last few days of the transfer window, adding much-needed midfield reinforcements in Mateus Fernandes and Soungoutou Magassa.
Speaking of Nottingham Forest, The Athletic recently reported that manager Nuno Espirito Santo has had a monumental falling out with the new Global Head of Football Edu. With Nuno’s job now at risk, Jose could be the man to come in and take Forest to the next level, although we give it about three weeks before he starts clashing with Evangelos Marinakis.
Wolves are perhaps the most likely option of clubs that could become managerless in the not-so-distant future. After turning the club’s fortunes around last season, Vitor Pereira’s side now sit dead bottom of the Premier league table with three defeats from his three games and only two goals scored.
Given the club’s relationship with Jose’s agent Jorge Mendes, don’t be too surprised if we see him knocking about Wolverhampton soon.
Time to move on to international management?
It’s felt like Jose’s time as a high-level club manager has been running out for a while now. He no longer has the aura and is seemingly unable to connect with players in the way needed to succeed at the likes of Chelsea, Real Madrid, and Inter Milan like he used to.
International management is something that has always been touted as the next move for him, the man himself has hinted plenty of times that he would be open to making the switch at some point in his career.
He recently told Sporty Net: "I've been away from Portugal since 2004, and I don't think my country would accept me coaching a team other than my own. My destiny, in terms of internationals, is to play in a World Cup with the Portuguese national team. I never considered coaching the Brazilian national team.
"My first experience has to be with Portugal, and then people have to understand that I'm a professional and that I can coach other teams, but always teams with which I have something that connects me. Brazil, obviously, because of the historical relationship between our countries, England because it's my home, Italy, I worked there for several years, but my first experience with the national team has to be mine."
Destiny or not, Jose managing Portugal at a World Cup would be box-office.
A road less travelled?
Fenerbahce are a huge internationally known club, there is no doubt about that, but few would have expected Jose to rock up in Turkey. Perhaps it’s a sign of the times but perhaps it also shows a willingness to move to clubs and countries that fallen from grace in an age where the top five leagues dominate so heavily.
Rangers legend Ally McCoist was on TalkSPORT talking about how much he would love to see Jose at his old club, although he admitted the finances may be a bit of a struggle. It’s not too hard to imagine such a move, he has spoken about his love for Scottish football and the passion of its fans before.
Reports from a Russian outlet have suggested that he is in talks with a move to clubs in the country but given the fact they’ve been ostracised from global sport, and it would likely make him a persona non grata, don’t expect that to happen.
Verdict
It’s a real sliding doors moment for Jose. In an era where clubs prefer head coaches over managers, don’t bank on him taking charge of an elite club any time soon. Should Portugal not do so well at next year’s World Cup, that feels like a natural progression.