José Mourinho hits back at Varandas: The job he’s done at Sporting... | OneFootball

Frederico Varandas and José Mourinho have been exchanging barbs over the past few days. First, the Benfica coach 'took a jab' at Sporting and Porto over refereeing controversies and, more recently, the President of the Lions ended up responding, something the Reds' coach did not want to leave unanswered.

When asked about the speech given by the top leader of the Alvalade club, on the sidelines of the Eagles' preview for the Portuguese Cup match, Mourinho ended up... congratulating Varandas: "I don’t feel anything, nor do I have any comment. I read that the president of Sporting will run again for the presidency. Although it’s not something that concerns me, I’d like to take this opportunity to congratulate him for the fantastic work he’s done since taking over as president of Sporting."

It’s worth remembering that the President of Sporting responded to José Mourinho in the same speech in which he announced he would participate in the Lions' elections, scheduled for March 2026, saying: "I come from a place where hierarchy is very important, I wanted to thank people you don’t know, but who have given so much, our staff; those we demand a lot from and who make Sporting live, today, through one of the best periods in its history. They don’t appear in the spotlight, but they are part of our Club’s transformation. From a place where we don’t cry, we don’t complain, where we strive to be better every day."

"Historic back-to-back championship, the double... And how sweet it was... A year ago we were national champions and most people doubted we could win back-to-back titles. I said it here, that our group would give everything to win the second, fight for the second. Against all expectations, they were champions, back-to-back champions; today we have two strong rivals, it’s true, but it’s also true that this group... There isn’t a single person who doesn’t believe they will fight for the third consecutive title," Frederico Varandas added.

The green and white emblem returns to the pitch next Thursday, December 18, against Santa Clara, in a match for the round of 16 of the Taça de Portugal. The match against the team led by Vasco Matos will be played at 6:45 pm, away, in the Azores.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.