Is he one of the top earners?

In a surprise move, Fenerbahce have appointed Jose Mourinho as their new head coach, luring him with an impressive salary package. The club announced that Mourinho will receive a lavish salary and his contract will run until the 2024-25 and 2025-26 seasons.

This announcement is a significant moment for both Mourinho and Fenerbahce and reflects the club’s ambitious plans to reclaim domestic and international glory. The club announced the deal to Turkey’s Public Disclosure Platform (KAP). However, they did not mention any details about potential bonuses.

Mourinho’s contract includes an annual salary of $11.4 million, making him one of the highest-paid managers in football. The club has not disclosed details of bonuses, but the base salary alone places the head coach in the upper echelons of managerial salaries, behind only the likes of Atletico Madrid’s Diego Simeone and Manchester City’s Pep Guardiola.

Mourinho received a warm welcome in Istanbul. Thousands of Fenerbahce fans attended his launch at the Ülker Stadium. The event underlined the club’s high expectations of the Portuguese tactician, who is known for his successful stints at top European clubs. The list includes Porto, Chelsea, Inter, Real Madrid, Manchester United and Tottenham.

Fenerbahce president Ali Koc expressed the club’s excitement about signing Mourinho and stressed that the club’s offer was more attractive than that of other interested clubs, including Besiktas. “Mourinho was impressed by our dreams,” Koc explainedand underlines the club’s ambitious vision.

“Other clubs have met with Mourinho besides us. Besiktas has also contacted him,” Koc told Turkish media. Aziz Yıldırım and Sadettin Saran have also met. But we met before all of them. We made a much more suitable offer than Aziz Yıldırım’s and he accepted it. We gave him and his entire team $11.4 million annually,” he confirmed.

Where does Mourinho’s salary at Fenerbahce rank among the world’s top earners?

Mourinho’s salary makes him one of the highest-paid managers in the world. Atletico Madrid’s Diego Simeone remains the top earner at $38 million a year, followed by Manchester City’s Pep Guardiola at $25 million.

Afterwards, Steven Gerrard is said to have signed a 19 million dollar contract with the Saudi Arabian club Al-Ettifaq. Daily MailArsenal are reportedly trying to sign Mikel Arteta for a fee equivalent to Guardiola’s $25 million. He has one year left on his contract and is currently earning $11.5 million.

If Arteta’s rise brings his transfer fee to nearly $25 million, Mourinho would be sixth on $11.4 million. As far as we know, Jürgen Klopp, Allegri, Thomas Tuchel and Pochettino all earned more than that last season. But now that they’ve all left their posts, Mourinho can make a push into the top five.

What can Mourinho bring to the Turkish scene?

Fenerbahce finished second in the Turkish Super Lig last season. They narrowly missed out on the title by three points to arch-rivals Galatasaray. The club also made it to the quarter-finals of the UEFA Europa Conference League, but were eliminated by Olympiacos. Mourinho’s main task will be to end the club’s league title drought and make a significant impression in European competitions. This trophy drought has lasted since 2014.

The club will take part in Champions League qualifiers in July, giving Mourinho an early opportunity to test his side against top European competition, and his arrival is seen as a crucial step in boosting the team’s performance and standing at domestic and international level.

The Portuguese’s illustrious career also includes winning the UEFA Champions League twice – first in 2004 with Porto and then in 2010 with Inter. He has also won numerous domestic titles in Portugal, England, Italy and Spain. Most recently, he led Roma to victory in the Europa Conference League in 2022.

Despite his long list of achievements, the 61-year-old’s tenure in Italy’s capital ended in January 2024 when Daniele De Rossi took over. His time with the Giallorossi was marked by triumphs and controversies, a common thread that runs through his entire career.

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