Rui Costa breaks silence on Mourinho, reveals Benfica contract detail | OneFootball

José Mourinho's departure to Real Madrid continues to be a major talking point, and Rui Costa used the press conference held this Thursday to clarify one of the issues that has raised the most doubts among Benfica fans: the clause in the Portuguese coach's contract. Asked whether he might have tried to remove that clause in order to keep full control over the coach's future until the end of the season, the Eagles' president explained that it had been created in a very specific context, linked to the Club's election period.

"First of all, when that clause was drawn up, we were in an election period. It meant that, if I didn't win the elections, whoever came in would have different flexibility to continue or not with José Mourinho. I've seen a lot of confusion. That clause applied to both Benfica and Mourinho. If Benfica wanted to dismiss Mourinho, it would have to pay the 7 million euros, and if Mourinho wanted to leave, the same applied", he began by saying.

Rui Costa was keen to stress that this condition had no bearing on any possible approach from another club for the coach, making it clear that the multimillion-euro release clause always remained fully in force for third parties. "This clause only applied to those two parties. At any moment, even during those 10 days, if any club wanted Mourinho, it would always have to pay the 15 million euros. That agreement was only between the two parties. That clause was there for that purpose, and none of us expected there not to be continuity," he said.

The Benfica president ended his explanation by stressing that there was never any exception that would make it easier for the coach to leave for another club. "Let it be clear: any club that wanted Mourinho would always have to pay the 15 million euros. The 7 million would only apply to Benfica and Mourinho", he concluded.

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