Jose Mourinho sacking explained as club chief makes brutal admission

Fenerbahce president Alic Koc has confessed that the decision to sack Jose Mourinho was driven by a desire for the team to play "better football", insisting that their Champions League play-off exit did not influence the decision.

The Special One was gearing up for his second season at the helm of the Turkish club, but his tenure was abruptly ended - due to the style of football he advocates. Under Mourinho's guidance, Fenerbahce failed to topple rivals Galatasaray in the title race.

This means their quest for league glory continues to stretch back to 2014, while the former Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur manager didn't manage to secure any silverware during his solitary year in charge. Fenerbahce suffered a setback in the early stages of the season, failing to qualify for the Champions League.

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They were narrowly defeated by Benfica, who triumphed in the two-legged tie 1-0. Fenerbahce managed to secure four points from a possible six to kick-start their campaign before parting company with Mourinho, whose approach ultimately cost him his job.

Koc revealed to Turkish sports outlet Fanatik: "Why did we fire Mourinho? I'll say it for the first time, it was a painful dismissal. Parting ways with someone who is above all a friend was tough. Being eliminated by Benfica wasn't a problem, but the way we were eliminated was unacceptable.", He told Turkish outlet Fanatik via the Mirror.

"This made me feel like last year's football would continue. We parted ways because we believed this squad would be playing better football at this point.

""We knew our coach would put emphasis on defence when we brought him in, but we talked about the need to play more dominantly at the end of the season. Scoring 99 goals and getting 99 points [as Fenerbahce had done in the Superlig in the 2023-24 season] is our genetic code."

Fenerbahce eventually finished 11 points behind rivals Galatasaray. They were also eliminated from the Europa League by Rangers, who had suffered a troublesome campaign and were being managed by interim boss Barry Ferguson. The Scottish outfit eventually prevailed on penalties. However, Koc maintains that appointing Mourinho "was a huge success. Our chemistry worked, the successes were there."

He is now considering another overseas appointment, despite being rejected by former Napoli manager Luciano Spalletti. The club chief explained: "Luciano Spalletti was our first choice, but he decided not to work this season.

"Due to the large number of foreign players in our team, we feel that the coach ought to be someone foreign with European experience. We're in contact with several and will announce our new coach very soon."