Goodbye Martin, hello Mourinho: Rangers cannot afford to miss this opportunity

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Football Today

·29 Agustus 2025

Goodbye Martin, hello Mourinho: Rangers cannot afford to miss this opportunity

Fenerbahce’s decision to sack manager Jose Mourinho after their midweek exit from the Champions League opens up a massive window of opportunity for Rangers.

The search term ‘where next for Mourinho’ gave Google plenty to think about after the news of his brutal departure from the Turkish club broke.

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The Premier League was inevitably touted as an ideal landing spot, but the list of potential options is relatively uninspiring.

Manchester United? A disaster waiting to happen. Nottingham Forest? Owner Evangelos Marinakis and Mourinho would kill each other.

Leeds United? Maybe. Their spiky fans would love Mourinho, but it would ultimately go pear-shaped. Burnley? Don’t be silly. West Ham United? See Burnley.

Mourinho has nothing left to prove in the Premier League. Returning there would be a bad idea, and he probably knows that.

Heading back to La Liga and Serie A should also be out of the equation, and there is nothing to be gained by managing in the Bundesliga or Ligue 1.

The Saudi Pro League, Major League Soccer and international football may be options for Mourinho if he fancies stepping out of the spotlight.

All of which leaves Rangers. We touted Mourinho as the ideal man for the club several months ago, but they decided to appoint Russell Martin.

The former Southampton manager is already under pressure after a dismal start to the new season. Things could come to a head if Rangers are beaten by Celtic this weekend.

Rangers and Mourinho would be a match made in heaven. They need a manager with the charisma to knock Celtic off their perch.

Much like every other job Mourinho has had, there would eventually be a big blow-up, and he would ride off into the sunset.

However, none of that would matter in the short term. Mourinho would shake things up at Rangers and in the Scottish Premiership.

Anyone who does not want to watch that unfold doesn’t love football.