Ali Koç: It was a bitter separation, Mourinho and I had great chemistry

Fenerbahçe Club President Ali Koç said of Jose Mourinho, "I'm announcing this here for the first time. It's a painful separation. Our chemistry was perfect."

Jose Mourinho signed a 2+1 year contract with Fenerbahçe in front of tens of thousands of fans in June 2024. On June 5, 2024, Fenerbahçe Club President Ali Koç announced Mourinho's annual salary, including his entire team, as €12 million.

Last year, Mourinho's Fenerbahçe finished second behind Galatasaray in the Super League with 84 points.

In this season's UEFA Champions League play-off, Portuguese side Benfica eliminated Fenerbahçe 1-0 with a 35th-minute goal from Kerem Aktürkoğlu in the second leg of the 0-0 draw. Fenerbahçe will continue their quest for a spot in the UEFA Europa League.

On August 29th, Fenerbahçe announced its departure from Mourinho. Ali Koç, who met with members of Congress today, revealed the reason for his departure for the first time. According to NTV Spor, the Yellow Canaries' president said the following:

* I'm revealing it here for the first time. It was a painful breakup. Our chemistry was perfect, and his accomplishments were obvious. Just being able to bring him here was a huge accomplishment. Parting ways with someone I was friends with was difficult.

* When we brought our coach in, we knew that he played defensively, but at the end of the season, we talked about the need to play more dominantly.

* Our genetic makeup is to score 99 goals and collect 99 points. Getting eliminated by Benfica is fine, but the way we were eliminated is unacceptable. This made me feel like last year's football will continue.

* We parted ways because we believe this squad will play better football at this point. This kind of football is a good fit in Europe, but in Türkiye, we need to crush them in most matches.