Jose Mourinho signed a contract with Fenerbahçe this Sunday in a big ceremony at the Turkish football club’s stadium in Istanbul, in front of thousands of fans, which led him to say that he felt “loved even before the victory.”
“Football is a passion. And there is no better place to feel this passion. Firstly, I want to thank you for the affection, the love that I felt from the moment my name was associated with Fenerbahce. Typically, a coach is loved after a win. “Now I feel like I’m loved even before I win,” Mourinho said to the roar of the fans.
The Portuguese coach further stated his intention to “work for Turkish football, to help improve it,” but emphasized that for him the most important thing is not “Turkish football or the Turkish League, but Fenerbahce.”
As a sign of his full commitment to his new club, Mourinho made a promise: “From now on, I belong to your family. This T-shirt is my skin.”
Fans have already met Mourinho at Sabiha Gokcen Airport, where the coach arrived on a private jet from London and then went by helicopter to his hotel.
After a boat ride on the Bosphorus, Mourinho headed to the Sükrü Saraçoğlu Stadium in Istanbul’s Asian district, where he was received by club president Ali Koç to the delight of thousands of fans in the stands.
Koç called Mourinho “one of the top five coaches in the world” and called his arrival at Fenerbahce a “historic step” for the Turkish team.
Mourinho returned the kindness: “From the moment I met President Ali Koch, I wanted to be your coach. Because you are the soul of football clubs. Once I shared your ideas and projects, I wanted to train you all.”
“Finally, I want to say that from the moment I sign the contract, your dream becomes my dream,” concluded Mourinho, who signed a two-year contract with an option for another, according to the Turkish press.
Fenerbahce finished second in the 2023/24 Turkish Super League, three points behind champions Galatasaray.
Accepting Mourinho is a potentially decisive asset for Koç in the club’s presidential elections, which will take place from June 8 to 9, as promised by his rival, Aziz Yildirim, Fenerbahce’s president from 1998 to 2018. bring in a Portuguese coach if he wins the elections.