Benfica has reached an agreement with José Mourinho, who will manage the club until June 2027.
The two parties sealed a verbal agreement in the early hours of today, with only the specific details regarding assistant coaches still pending. The "Special One" is expected to make his official debut this Thursday and begin working with the team to prepare for the Primeira Liga match against AVS at the Estádio de Vila das Aves this Saturday.
In fact, this move aligns with the intention expressed by Rui Costa following Bruno Lage’s departure.
Notably, the manager arrived in Lisbon in the late afternoon of Wednesday. He admitted that he had received an invitation from Benfica and stated his willingness to accept it, saying:
“Benfica officially asked if I was interested and said they would be happy to talk to everyone once I return to Portugal. If I go back to Benfica, it won’t be a celebration of my career, nor a reunion after 25 years, let alone coming home…
When I learned about the possibility of coaching Benfica, I didn’t hesitate to say: ‘I’m interested, and I’m willing to.’
Which coach would turn down Benfica? Not me.”
Next Tuesday and Friday, Benfica will host Rio Ave and Gil Vicente at home respectively. On October 30th, Mourinho will visit a familiar stadium: Stamford Bridge, to face Chelsea. On October 5th, Benfica will take on Porto in an away fixture, after which the FIFA international break will begin.
