Jose Mourinho, one of football’s greatest-ever managers, was sacked from his role at Serie A side Roma on 16th January 2024, thus ending his second spell in the Italian top flight. The Portuguese maestro led the Italian side to Europa Conference League glory in 2021/22, but was unable to sustain a serious challenge for the Serie A title with his side finishing sixth in the last two seasons and – at the time of his sacking – they are languishing in ninth place.
Mourinho has already managed some of the biggest football clubs in the world including Real Madrid and Manchester United, and won numerous honours (see below). Still just 60 years of age, Mourinho is certainly not over the hill, and although there are plenty of top-level managers younger than him, others are at least as old (Real Madrid’s Carlo Ancelotti, for instance, is 64 at the time of writing). So, to the point of the article: which club will Jose Mourinho manage next? And, perhaps equally pertinent, can he ever lead a top club to multiple honours again?
Mourinho’s Managerial Honours
Before we speculate where Mourinho might go next, let’s take a look back at his glittering managerial career that has seen him earn trophies almost everywhere he’s been.
| Years | Club | Honours |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Benfica | None |
| 2001-2002 | União de Leiria | None |
| 2002-2004 | Porto | Primeira Liga: 2002/03, 2003/04; Taça de Portugal: 2002/03; Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira: 2003; UEFA Champions League: 2003/04; UEFA Cup: 2002/03 |
| 2004-2007 | Chelsea | Premier League: 2004/05, 2005/06; FA Cup: 2006/07; Football League Cup: 2004/05, 2006/07; FA Community Shield: 2005 |
| 2008-2010 | Inter Milan | Serie A: 2008/09, 2009/10; Coppa Italia: 2009/10; Supercoppa Italiana: 2008; UEFA Champions League: 2009/10 |
| 2010-2013 | Real Madrid | La Liga: 2011/12; Copa del Rey: 2010/11; Supercopa de España: 2012 |
| 2013-2015 | Chelsea | Premier League: 2014/15; Football League Cup: 2014/15 |
| 2016-2018 | Manchester United | EFL Cup: 2016/17; FA Community Shield: 2016; UEFA Europa League: 2016/17 |
| 2019-2021 | Tottenham Hotspur | None |
| 2021-2024 | AS Roma | UEFA Europa Conference League: 2021/22 |
As you can see from the table above, Mourinho certainly proved himself the ‘Special One’ on several occasions, winning league titles, domestic cups and European trophies galore. It’s fair to say, though, that his levels of success have dwindled somewhat in recent years, especially when in charge of Tottenham, the first club he’d managed without winning anything since 2002! This decline is also reflected in his win percentages, as we can see.
| Years | Club | Win Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Benfica | 54.55 |
| 2001-2002 | União de Leiria | 52.17 |
| 2002-2004 | Porto | 71.65 |
| 2004-2007 | Chelsea | 67.03 |
| 2008-2010 | Inter Milan | 62.04 |
| 2010-2013 | Real Madrid | 71.91 |
| 2013-2015 | Chelsea | 58.82 |
| 2016-2018 | Manchester United | 58.33 |
| 2019-2021 | Tottenham Hotspur | 51.16 |
| 2021-2024 | AS Roma | 49.28 |
It must be rather disheartening for Mourinho for his win percentage to have slipped below 50% for the first time in his career in his most recent post. Despite this, we think there’s still plenty of fight left, even if he hasn’t quite garnered the results he would have liked in Serie A recently. So let’s turn to where the Special One might pop up next.
Where Next for Jose?
Given that he has clearly set very high standards over the years in terms of the clubs he’s managed (except maybe when he took the Spurs job!), it’s unlikely Mourinho would settle for a middle-of-the-road side that is unlikely to challenge for serious honours. So here are the most likely options, in our opinion.
A Third Stint at Chelsea or Another Premier League Club?
Given Chelsea’s struggles in recent times, it is not beyond comprehension that the Blues’ board might seek to attract Jose back to Stamford Bridge. After all, he won the Premier League title in both stints at the club. The big question here, though, is whether the fans would accept it. After his rather lacklustre showing at Spurs, Jose’s boat may have long since sailed for most Blues supporters, and he wouldn’t be a popular choice… unless he hit the ground running and started bringing success back to the Bridge, but we can’t see this happening. For similar reasons, we also can’t see a return to Manchester United, where he didn’t particularly excel in his first stint.
One option that could be possible, however, is Newcastle United. The Magpies are hungry for success and after a poor run of form, they are plummeting towards the bottom half of the Premier League. Could the Saudi-backed board take the plunge on a proven winner? It wouldn’t be a massive surprise.
Portugal’s National Team
One option we certainly think is off the table (for now at least) is that of Portugal’s national team boss. Former Everton and Belgium boss Roberto Martínez has not long been in the hot seat and, at the time of writing, he has won 10 out of 10 matches. In other words, there’s no reason to change a winning formula.
Does the Bundesliga Beckon?
The only major league in Europe in which Mourinho has not tested his mettle is Germany’s Bundesliga. With Edin Terzić under just a little bit of pressure at Borussia Dortmund this season, as Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern Munich race ahead, there’s a chance the club could get rid of the German-Croatian and install Mourinho… if he would take the job of course, which is far from certain.
Wildcard Options
With Mourinho getting to the latter stages of his career, he might fancy getting out of the rough and tumble of European football and finding new challenges (and massive pay packets) elsewhere. The Saudi Pro League would be the obvious destination if Mourinho fancied bolstering his retirement fund, as there are plenty of clubs there with the finances to pay whatever it takes to attract the Portuguese coach. It would certainly be a massive coup for the SPL to attract a manager of the Portuguese’s status.
An option that might hold greater appeal to Mourinho, however, could well be a spell across the Atlantic to take charge of an MLS side. He wouldn’t earn as much as he might in Saudi Arabia, but he might feel it would be easier to assimilate into the culture.
Finally, Mourinho might decide to take a break from football, bide his time and see which nation flops. For instance, if Gareth Southgate fails to get out of the group with England, could the FA get rid and opt for the pragmatic but often effective managerial approach of Mourinho? Just like with a possible return to Chelsea, we can’t imagine it would be the most popular appointment with fans, but after what would be almost 60 years of hurt, if Mourinho led the Three Lions to glory, he’d become a national hero.