January 16 – Sacked again with presumably another large pay out. Jose Mourinho, whose contract was due to end in June anyway, may not have been the Special One for some considerable time but his bank balance must be pretty healthy.
Mourinho was fired by Roma today with immediate effect after two-and-a-half years in charge – with former club captain Daniele De Rossi replacing him until the end of the season.
The Portuguese manager, 60, joined the Serie A side in May 2021 and won the Europa Conference League in May 2022.
The former Porto, Chelsea, Manchester United, Real Madrid and Tottenham Hotspur boss also guided Roma to the Europa League final last year, where they were defeated by Sevilla on penalties.
But Roma have won just one of their last six Serie A games this season – leaving them ninth in the table – and were recently knocked out of the Coppa Italia by city rivals Lazio.
Following the Lazio defeat Mourinho, one of the most decorated football managers of all time, didn’t do himself any favours by comparing himself to fictional wizard Harry Potter – seemingly implying he still had the ‘magic’ touch.
During the match, he received a red card for the second successive game but said he was “raising expectations” for what the club can achieve.
The club’s American owners, Dan and Ryan Friedkin, thanked Mourinho for his “passion and efforts” in a statement announcing his sacking.
They later announced that Rome-born De Rossi – who spent 18 years at the club as a player, making more than 600 appearances – will take over the role until the end of the season.
“We believe that an immediate change is in the best interests of the club,” they said in the statement.
“We believe that the leadership and ambition that have always characterised Daniele can be decisive in chasing the objectives that the team has ahead of it until the end of the season.
“We knew the indissoluble bond that unites Daniele to the club, but the enthusiasm with which he immediately accepted this challenge for the coming months further convinced us of his ability to be a guide for the players and a proud representative of the values of this club.”
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