Jose Mourinho has only been in the Fenerbahce hotseat for a matters of hours but the former Manchester United boss – as charismatic yet cantankerous as ever – is already wasting no time keeping the reporters in check.
Mourinho, handed the keys to the Fener machine after the luckless Super Lig giants picked up 99 points and lost just once while still finishing as runners-up to Galatasaray, finds himself sharing a dressing room with a familiar face in Istanbul.
Fenerbahce signed Fred in a £13 million deal from Manchester United last summer. The Brazil international will now spend the 2024/25 season under the man who brought him to Old Trafford in the first place six years ago.
But amid suggestions that Fred could be reunited with another he knows from Manchester, Mourinho was quick to dismiss the rumours linking Romelu Lukaku with a move to the cavernous and ever-volatile Sukru Saracoglu Stadium.
Former Manchester United boss gets Fenerbahce job
“I hear (rumours) that I want Lukaku and (Paulo) Dybala,” Mourinho tells BeIN Sports, referencing a forward pair he worked with at Roma before his sacking at the start of 2024.
“I do not want these players.”
Mourinho was sitting comfortably in the Man United dugout when Lukaku arrived from Everton to the tune of£75 million back in 2017. The Belgian’s tally of 27 goals from his debut season at Old Trafford also goes some way to dispelling the notion that Lukaku was a flop worthy of a place alongside Alexis Sanchez in the pantheon of ill-fated and expensive post-Sir Alex Ferguson reinforcements.
Flash forward to the present day, Lukaku is still technically a Chelsea player. Not that the 31-year-old appears to have any future at Stamford Bridge. Lukaku returned for a second spell at Inter Milan on loan in 2022 and then spent last season at Roma, breaking the 20-goal barrier for the eighth time in his often underrated career.
“It would not be ethical for me to comment on last year,” adds Mourinho, his predecessor Ismail Kartal harshly sacked despite guiding Fenerbahce to within touching distance of the 100 point mark.
“I want my players to trust me. I’m someone who likes to speak directly. I may not always be a good person for them, but I am honest.”
Sometimes too honest, maybe, as Luke Shaw and Paul Pogba would no doubt attest to.
Jose Mourinho sets his sights on Turkish glory
“I need time to see and get to know the team a little. It is not possible to change things in a short time. It will be a gradual process,” adds one of the most decorated managers of the modern era, Mourinho hired to end Fenerbahce’s decade-long wait for domestic domination.
“We will build a very strong team to realise the dreams of Fenerbahce fans. I can promise this; commitment to the club, empathy to the fans, and a promise to do a good job.
“This jersey is now my skin. It is a part of my skin. I want everyone in the club to have this mentality. Our main goal is to win the Super Lig. We respect the other three teams playing for the championship. People think big because I played in six finals in Europe, and won five of them.
“We want to go step by step, and our main goal is to take part in the Champions League groups.”