Jose Mourinho Next Club: Ranking the Contenders to Appoint the Special One

For just over a year, Istanbul buzzed with the anticipation that the ‘Special One’ would rewrite Turkish football’s narrative. Instead, Jose Mourinho's reign has fizzled out, with Fenerbahce no closer to ending their 12-year title drought, while archrivals Galatasaray have pulled further away. While the Lions smashed the Turkish transfer record to sign Victor Osimhen for some €70m, the Yellow Canaries were suffering a disappointing Champions League qualifying exit at the hands of Benfica, and that ultimately cost Mourinho his job.

The Turkish press did not need much prompting to pick over the bones. Fenerbahce President Ali Koc, in a series of unsparing interviews, cut deeper than any tactical analysis. “Painful,” he said of the decision, but necessary—not because of defeat, but the manner of it.

Even the bare facts tell a compelling story: 99 goals and 99 points in the year before Mourinho arrived set new expectations, ones that Mourinho’s clinical pragmatism failed to meet. Trophyless, ousted from Europe by managerless Rangers, and always one step - and a whopping 15 points - behind Galatasaray, Fenerbahce demanded more. Then came the Champions League qualifying exit at the hands of Benfica, and it was clear that the curtain would soon be closing on the Special One's Turkish interlude.

Following the departure, a smell of unfinished business remains, the idea of a manager who has not yet exhausted his capacity for reinvention. So, who will dare to hand him the next chapter, knowing full well that Mourinho brings with him not only expectation and scrutiny, but the possibility of an unforgettable, era-defining ride? Here are the frontrunners.

West Ham United

If the Premier League is an unforgiving beast, then West Ham’s current crisis has been an object lesson in brutality. Graham Potter arrived with optimism, but now, the statistics mock him. A record low points-per-game, a harrowing 5-1 demolition by Chelsea, and an inability to conjure a single home win since February have triggered protest and resignation in equal measure across East London. The recent 3-0 upset victory away at Nottingham Forest has kept the Englishman in a job for now, but the writing could be on the wall if further defeats arrive in the coming weeks.

Online betting websites have the Hammers teetering on the edge of the relegation dogfight. The popular Bovada website lists Potter's side as a 5/2 contender for the drop, the sixth shortest odds in the entire league. Should those odds begin to shorten, West Ham's notoriously impatient board's gaze will sharpen toward names that guarantee impact.

Enter Mourinho—the man who made winning in England appear routine. His three Premier League titles at Chelsea are just the headline; dig deeper and you find a sorcerer able to squeeze resolve from beleaguered squads and, crucially, to galvanize an “us-against-the-world” mentality almost overnight.

He has, in recent years, half-joked about his openness to manage a “non-UEFA competing English club,” mentioning exactly the kind of challenge West Ham now represents. The fans, growing restless and impatient, would not shrink from the drama of a Mourinho rescue mission—and neither, seemingly, would the man himself. With no direct offers yet, West Ham’s shot at the Special One remains a tantalizing “what if,” but urgency can work wonders, especially when a club’s pride and future are on the line.

Rangers

There’s a certain electricity in Glasgow—sometimes fiery, sometimes suffocating, always alive. For Russell Martin, appointed at Rangers in June 2025, that energy is now scorching. A humiliating Champions League loss to Club Brugge and an anaemic league start have exposed raw nerves. Crowds at Ibrox want more than restoration; they crave another revolution, the kind that ends Celtic dominance and brings seismic nights roaring back to Govan.

Mourinho, of course, is football’s ultimate disruptor. His CV needs no embellishment: three league titles in England, two Champions Leagues, the man who ended Barcelona’s spell in Spain. The Scottish tabloids have seized on his every comment, particularly his open flirtation with British football north of the border. “Rangers—a big club, big base, big emotions,” he said in March 2025 on the eve of Rangers' Europa League tussle with Mourinho's Fenerbahce, a clash that the Scottish side would ultimately win on penalties.

Could Mourinho galvanize the blue side of Glasgow to new heights? Everything—the hunger, the tradition, the volatility—suggests he could thrive at Ibrox, if only the board finds the nerve to pull the trigger.

Bayer Leverkusen

At Bayer Leverkusen, the search for a reset button has taken on urgency bordering on panic, especially after Erik ten Hag’s shock departure just two games into the season. Losing talisman Florian Wirtz via a big-money move to Liverpool, as well as Jeremie Frimpong - also heading to Anfield - and captain Granit Xhaka, has only compounded the sense of drift. And all of this comes just one season removed from their finest hour, Xabi Alonso leading them to their maiden Meisterschale back in 2024.

Mourinho, a man whose career has been built on restoring order, may not be the obvious aesthetic fit, but his credentials for stabilization are beyond dispute. Consider his renaissance at Manchester United: a sometimes directionless squad, molded into Europa League winners and Premier League runners-up through structure, ruthlessness, and pragmatism.

Leverkusen may reportedly be courting other profiles, yet no one can ignore Mourinho’s near-immaculate tactical record against Bundesliga opposition. If the club desires both short-term recovery and long-term steel in the pursuit of Bayern Munich, there are few managers better equipped to lay those foundations.

The real question—would Mourinho relish a crack at the Bundesliga, one of the few major leagues yet to bear his stamp? Of course he would.

Published by Patrick Jane
12.09.2025