Will he stay or will he go? Benfica fans have their say on Mourinho’s possible/probable exit | OneFootball

José Mourinho’s second spell at Benfica looks to be coming to an end (Photo: Arlindo Alves Homem ©)

All the signs point to José Mourinho ending his second spell at Benfica after the final match of the season at Estoril this coming weekend.

News about a possible return to Real Madrid has dominated the football agenda in both Portugal and Spain over the past few days, and Mourinho’s post-match press conference after Benfica’s 2-2 draw against Braga on Monday only added to the feeling his time at the Estádio da Luz was up.

“It’s a squad I had a lot of fun with,” said Mourinho. “I always went to training happy to be with them, and I always left training happy with the work we had done. It’s a good group of men.”

Before the Braga match, PortuGOAL carried out an informal vox pop with fans at the stadium, asking Benfiquistas what they would like to happen, and they thought would happen in relation to Portugal’s most successful ever coach and the Lisbon giants. Listen to and read a variety of opinions about the hot topic in Portuguese football.

Gonçalo: “I’d like him to stay for another year to be honest, but I think he’ll leave, his mind is elsewhere”

PortuGOAL: “José Mourinho? Do you think he’s leaving or staying?”

Gonçalo: “I think he’ll leave. I think he’s already with his mind elsewhere. I think he’ll try everything to get Benfica into the Champions League, then he’ll go on his way. His mind is in Real Madrid”

PortuGOAL: “Do you think he’s done a good job here at Benfica?”

Gonçalo: “I think so, yes. I’d like him to stay for another year to be honest. Benfica need a coach like José Mourinho, a world class coach, and I’m sorry he’s going to leave. At least I believe he’ll leave.”

PortuGOAL: “If he leaves, who would you like next?”

Gonçalo: “It has to be a coach with a project. Marco Silva is a good option. Ruben Amorim is also a good option. I’d like either of these two.”

Ricardo: “The new coach? Between Marco Silva, Ruben Amorim and César Peixoto”

PortuGOAL · 03-Ricardo-Mourinho

PortuGOAL: “Should José Mourinho stay or leave Benfica?”

Ricardo: “He should stay.”

PortuGOAL: “That’s what you want, isn’t it, but what do you think will happen?”

Ricardo: “I think he will leave, I think he’ll go to Real Madrid.”

PortuGOAL: “If that happens who would you like as the next coach?”

PortuGOAL: “Between Marco Silva, Ruben Amorim and César Peixoto the Gil Vicente coach.”

Bruno: “I don’t think Mourinho has the ideal profile for Benfica”

PortuGOAL · 04-Bruno-Mourinho

PortuGOAL: “Will he stay or will he leave?”

Bruno: “He’ll leave”

PortuGOAL: “Would you like him to stay or leave?

Bruno: “I’m not too bothered.”

PortuGOAL: “Don’t you think he’s done a good job”

Bruno: “He’s done what has been possible. The team wasn’t well set up. I don’t think he has the ideal profile for Benfica.”

PortuGOAL: “Who would you prefer as the next coach?”

Bruno: “Ruben Amorim… Marco Silva maybe. Between the two.”

Alfredo: “If I could choose the next coach I’d choose Ruben Amorim”

PortuGOAL · 05-Alfredo-Mourinho

PortuGOAL: “Mourinho. Do you think he’s leaving or staying?”

Alfredo: “I think he’ll leave.”

PortuGOAL: “Who would you like as the next coach?”

Alfredo: “I agree with my friend. If I could choose I’d choose Ruben Amorim, because I think he’s a coach who would wear the team’s colours. He would be my choice.”

PortuGOAL: “Are all those years at Sporting a problem?!”

Alfredo: “He’ll do to Sporting, what he did to Benfica, he’d be welcome.”

Duarte: “I don’t want Mourinho to stay, but I think he will”

PortuGOAL · 06-Duarte-Mourinho

PortuGOAL: “Do you think José Mourinho will stay as Benfica coach of will he leave?”

Duarte: “I think he’ll stay.”

PortuGOAL: “Would you like him to stay”

Duarte: “No, I wouldn’t, but I think he’ll stay. The quality of football has not changed (with him).”

PortuGOAL: “Who would you like as the next coach?”

Duarte: “Ruben Amorim, Marco Silva, one of these two Portuguese coaches.”

Pedro: “… another season to judge him”, David: “… maybe he deserves a second chance”, Paulo: “I think Mourinho deserves to start next season”

PortuGOAL · 08-Pedro-David-Paulo-Mourinho

PortuGOAL: “Do you think José Mourinho will stay or leave Benfica?”

Pedro: “I’d like him to stay.”

PortuGOAL: “You’d like him to stay, but do you think that will happen or not?”

Pedro: “It’s difficult. When Real Madrid are after him, it’s difficult to fight it.”

PortuGOAL: “Do you think he’s done a good job?”

Pedro: “In my opinion he’s done the job that was possible for a team that was not built by him.”

PortuGOAL: “So if he had another season it would be different?”

Pedro: “In my opinion he’d have to do another season and then we can judge him better, but a full season.”

***

PortuGOAL: “Would you like José Mourinho to stay or leave?”

David: “Would I like him to stay? If it was up to me maybe Mourinho wouldn’t even have come in the first place. But maybe he deserves a second chance to do his job. But, like Pedro said, I think it’s very unlikely that he’ll stay.”

***

Paulo: “I’d like Mourinho to continue, I’d like him to do the job from right from the start, with the players chosen by him, and with a pre-season planned by him. I think that could bring Benfica good results, both at domestic and international level. I’m not talking about winning the Champions League, but we’d have a chance to put in a good performance on the international stage.

PortuGOAL: “There was a period in the season when it seemed things were clicking… that game against Real Madrid. And Benfica haven’t lost yet…”

Paulo: “In the league Benfica haven’t lost, and then there have been factors outside of football, the refereeing hasn’t been very good in Benfica’s games, which has harmed Benfica too. But yes, I think Mourinho deserves to start the season, but there you go. When competing against Real Madrid there is no chance.”

The 2025/26 season is about to end, but Benfica president Rui Costa will not be thinking about relaxing. His decisions in the coming days will have a huge bearing on the club’s immediate future, and possibly his own position at the helm of Portugal’s largest club.