ROME: José Mourinho is leaving Roma “with immediate effect,” the club announced Tuesday — ending an at times successful but also turbulent stay in the Italian capital for the veteran coach.
The move came two days after a 3-1 loss at AC Milan left Roma in ninth place in Serie A and at risk of missing the Champions League for a sixth straight season.
Roma was also eliminated by Lazio in an Italian Cup derby last week.
Mourinho was in his third season at Roma and his contract was due to expire in June. He led the Giallorossi to the UEFA Conference League title in his first season and Roma was a Europa League finalist last season.
But Mourinho was also given a series of bans for his protests and tirades against referees — which was clearly not appreciated by Roma’s American owners.
Mourinho was banned by UEFA from four European games for verbally abusing the Europa League final referee in a stadium garage after Roma lost to Sevilla. He was also suspended for the game at Milan on Sunday due to protests.
“AS Roma can confirm that José Mourinho and his coaching staff will leave the club with immediate effect,” the club said in a statement.
“We would like to thank José on behalf of all of us at AS Roma for his passion and efforts since his arrival at the club,” said owners Dan and Ryan Friedkin. “We will always have great memories of his tenure at Roma, but we believe that an immediate change is in the best interests of the club.”
Roma added that updates on the coaching staff “will follow imminently.”
Former Roma captain Daniele De Rossi is being mentioned as a possible caretaker, while there have been reports that ownership is trying to hire Antonio Conte for next season.
The 60-year-old Mourinho, who said last month that he wanted to extend his contract at Roma, could be headed to a club in Saudi Arabia or a national team position.
“Arrivederci, Roma,” Mourinho said on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, next to a photo of him carrying the Conference League trophy.
The Conference League title in 2022 marked Roma’s first European trophy in more than six decades. It was also Mourinho’s fifth European title.
Mourinho also won the 2003 UEFA Cup and 2004 Champions League with Porto; the 2010 Champions League with Inter Milan; and the 2017 Europa League with Manchester United — making him the first manager to lead four different clubs to European titles. He also coached Chelsea and Real Madrid to numerous domestic trophies.
But Mourinho’s defensive style is a struggle to watch and his expensive contract was a burden for Roma’s finances. The Portuguese coach, though, played a key role in luring standout players like Paulo Dybala and Romelu Lukaku to join the Giallorossi — and a constantly soldout Stadio Olimpico for matches was attributed to his outsized personality.
Roma announces that José Mourinho is leaving the club ‘with immediate effect’
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Roma announces that José Mourinho is leaving the club ‘with immediate effect’
- The move came two days after a 3-1 loss at AC Milan left Roma in ninth place in Serie A and at risk of missing the Champions League for a sixth straight season
- Roma was also eliminated by Lazio in an Italian Cup derby last week
Al-Hilal win tightens Saudi Pro League title race
- The 3-2 victory over Al-Khaleej leaves Al-Hilal a single point behind Riyadh rivals Al-Nassr, who play on Saturday
DUBAI: The gap at the top of the Saudi Pro League table was cut to just one point on Friday night, following Al-Hilal’s 3-2 win over Al-Khaleej.
Simone Inzaghi’s team leapfrogged Al-Taawoun into second place to remain the closest challengers to Al-Nassr in the title fight, with the leaders set to host Al-Okhdood on Saturday.
Al-Hilal opened the scoring on 18 minutes when Mohammed Kanno met Hamad Al-Yami’s lay-off on the edge of the penalty area, his long-range shot beating Al-Khaleej goalkeeper Anthony Moris at his left-hand post.
Sergej Milinkovic-Savic doubled the lead on 39 from Malcom’s assist to leave the visitors with a mountain to climb in the second half. Al-Hilal looked to have secured all three points comfortably when Malcom made it 3-0 on 57 minutes, but Al-Khaleej had other ideas.
Joshua King’s goal on 79 minutes looked to be nothing more than a consolation, but five minutes later Al-Hilal were left sweating after Giorgos Masouras cut their lead to a single goal. The visitors’ revival was short-lived, however, with no more additions to the score.
The defeat leaves Al-Khaleej in eighth place, with three matches still to be played on Saturday.
Earlier on Friday, Al-Taawoun briefly climbed to second place in the table after an away win against Al-Kholood at Al-Hazem Stadium. Their goals came from Christopher Zambrano after 22 minutes and a William Troost-Ekong’s own goal in the 75th; Al-Taawoun ended the match with 10 men after Muteb Al-Mufarrij was sent off in stoppage time, but the three points were already secured.
Al-Hilal’s win later in the day meant Al-Taawoun dropped to third, while Al-Kholood sit in 12th.
The first match of the day saw Al-Fateh shock reigning Asian champions Al-Ahli with a 2-1 win, after falling behind at home to Valentin Atangana’s 22nd-minute goal. However, the home team turned the match around with two goals from Maria Vargas either side of half time.
The win saw Al-Fateh rise to 14th while Al-Ahli stayed in fourth.
