Arriving on the bench of AS Roma in 2021, José Mourinho restored his letters of nobility to the Giallorossi by notably winning the Conference League in 2022, before playing in a lost Europa League final in 2023. Unfortunately, this third season of the Portuguese at the head of the Louve is more eventful. Last October, rumors of a possible departure were already circulating in the Italian press: “Three months ago, I was loved. There was panic just talking about my goodbyes. Today, given that we had a horrible start to the season in the league, I am questioning myself. But that’s not a problem. You keep talking about the future, but I don’t have to talk about the future.”, the coach then clarified. But the months pass and the results are not the best, especially in Serie A. A departure of José Mourinho at the end of his contract is not impossible, quite the contrary. According to our information, the two parties, Mourinho and the Roman club, are deep in thought about their common future.
“Brazil didn’t call me to become the new coach. I told my agent: don’t talk to anyone as long as I’m the coach of AS Roma. I trust the owners of AS Roma 100%. I always informed them, including when Portugal called me… And when the Saudi club called me last summer”, the 60-year-old Portuguese recently explained. José Mourinho repeated it: he will not negotiate during a season out of respect for the Roman management with whom he maintains very good relations and in order not to disrupt his group, still competing in the Coppa Italia, in Serie A and in the Europa League. Despite this cordial understanding, the Setúbal native coach is not sure he wants to extend his contract with AS Roma who will then have to write a new chapter.
The impact of Tiago Pinto’s departure
According to our information, the upcoming formalized departure of sporting director, Tiago Pinto, could also lead to the scheduled end of José Mourinho on the Roman bench. Very close to Special One, the Portuguese leader had been the great architect of the arrival of the former coach of Real Madrid and Chelsea on the Giallorossi bench in 2021. While his contract with La Louve will end on June 30, José Mourinho would hesitate to stay in Rome. Negotiations for a renewal are not completely closed today but Mourinho is considering leaving. The club’s president and owner, Dan Friedkin, has already listed several names to potentially succeed the Portuguese tactician. Among these profiles, Raffaele Palladino, Gian Piero Gasperini and Ivan Juric enjoy good internal ratings, while their respective contracts will end with Monza, Atalanta and Torino. Without a bench for several years, Antonio Conte and Igor Tudor are also appreciated. Internally, the signals are quite unanimous on the imminent departure of Mourinho who is concretely thinking about a new, unprecedented challenge. But the ball still remains in José Mourinho’s court who will have the last word. To be continued on this side.
The latter is very attracted by a challenge in Saudi Arabia to participate in the development of Saudi football or take charge of a national team, less than two years before the next World Cup. But obviously, the next AS Roma coach will be largely determined by the future sporting director: “It was three great years with José Mourinho and Tiago Pinto, but today, we are made to understand internally that we must begin a new transition to find success on a national scale”, tells us one of the assistants of Alberto De Rossi, director of development. According to our indiscretions, to take over the work of Tiago Pinto, the Roman club is surveying several managers including François Modesto, currently stationed at Monza. Possessing the Palladino/Modesto duo is more than just a possibility. Federico Cherubini, Javier Ribalta and Frederic Massara are also names to watch. The time for change should therefore be scheduled for next July.
