José Mourinho is one of the most famous, as well as controversial, football managers in the world: from his farewell to Fenerbahce to his arrival at Benfica, here’s how much he earns.
How much does José Mourinho earn? This is a question every fan will have asked at least once, considering we’re talking about one of the most successful—but also most controversial—managers in football history.
In the summer of 2021, José Mourinho became the manager of Roma, with the Portuguese coach managing to win the Conference League during his time there—the only trophy missing from his extraordinary career—as well as reaching the Europa League final.
In January 2024, however, Mourinho was sacked, with Roma’s owners deciding to relieve him of his duties before his contract expired. A few months later, Mourinho’s new team, Fenerbahce, was announced, with the manager signing a lucrative two-year contract with the Turkish club. An idyll that lasted only a year, however, and ended after a stinging elimination in the Champions League preliminary round against Benfica.
And which team is coached by the Special One today? That very Benfica, by a strange twist of fate—or perhaps not. Let’s take a detailed look at José Mourinho’s current salary, his total net worth, and the Portuguese coach’s biography.
How much does José Mourinho earn at Benfica? Salary
His return to Benfica marks a 25-year absence. During this time, Jose Mourinho has done it all: after a resounding success with arch-rivals Porto, he landed at Chelsea, then Inter—where he won a historic treble—Real Madrid, and then on to Roma and Fenerbahce, before making his grand return to his homeland.
A true odyssey, rewarded by a peculiar contract: in fact, Mourinho signed a agreement until 2027, but both the club and the coach himself reserve the right to terminate the relationship within 10 days of the end of the 2025/2026 season (the current one). A sort of openness to severance pay on both sides, which is certainly the result of both the Special One’s attitude and mutual needs.
But how much does Mourinho earn today? Sources close to Portuguese football speak of a salary of around €4 million net per season, a far cry from the more than €10 million net he earned until a few weeks earlier in Turkey.
After the end of his Roman adventure, Josè Mourinho hadn’t been without a bench for long. Contrary to the inevitable rumors coming from Saudi Arabia, he ultimately found himself with a very generous deal with Fenerbahce: a two-year contract worth 10.5 million net per season. The second year, however, ended before he could even begin, with his dismissal and subsequent move to Benfica.
Jose Mourinho’s Net Worth and Past Salaries
Many victories with the clubs he has managed so far, but also lavish earnings for José Mourinho, thanks in part to his synergy with powerful agent Jorge Mendes. After his early days at União Leiria, where he made a name for himself, and his meteoric rise at Porto, the Portuguese coach has always been one of the highest paid in the business.
When he arrived at Chelsea in 2004, fresh from winning the Champions League with Porto, the Portuguese coach signed a contract worth 5 million per season. Thanks to his success, his salary increased first to 6 million and then to 7.5 million.
After moving to Inter in 2008, Mourinho wrested a 9 million contract from then-owner Moratti, which then rose to 12 million the following year thanks to the historic Treble. When he moved to Real Madrid in 2010, he became the highest-paid manager in the world, earning 15.3 million per season.
He returned to Chelsea in 2013 for 14 million per season, but his dismissal cost the Blues a total severance payment of 23 million pounds, including compensation for the staff loyal to the Setubal coach.
Then, in 2016, he moved to Manchester United for a salary of almost 20 million per season.
Aside from his salary, it must be said that José Mourinho has also enjoyed extra income over the years. From contracts with sponsors Adidas, Heineken, and Hublot, he earned another 9 million annually.
During the 2018 World Cup in Russia, he earned Russia Today a check for 2 million for his commentary.
But, coming closer to the present day, in Italy the Special One has returned to being celebrated for having brought Roma the first international trophy in modern history: the Conference League title won in 2022.
And, in total, he had signed a significant three-year contract with Roma worth 7 million net per year plus bonuses, with Tottenham taking on an additional 9 million in the first year (2021/2022), the difference between his wages at the Giallorossi and the remaining salary with the London club.
Previously, the Special One at Tottenham, with whom he had signed a contract until June 2023, earned an annual salary of 15 million pounds, which in euros equals almost 17.5 million.
Thus, even at Roma, Mourinho continued to earn the huge sum guaranteed by Spurs for a year, which was still lower than what the manager earned when he was at Manchester United.
Given these figures, José Mourinho can be considered one of the richest and highest-paid coaches in the world, so much so that online rumors are circulating that he has a net worth nearly 120 million euros.
José Mourinho’s Biography
"But I’m not an idiot...". This is how José Mourinho introduced himself to the Italian press on June 3, 2008, answering a trick question from an English journalist. Even in Italy, it was immediately clear that the man who had arrived at Inter was no ordinary coach, but a Special One.
Born in Setubal on January 26, 1963, Mourinho belongs to that category of coaches who have managed to achieve success despite not having been professional footballers, much like Arrigo Sacchi and Rafa Benitez.
Son of the recently deceased Felix Mourinho, first a goalkeeper and then a coach, José began a career in football as a defender, but failed to make it big. At 24, he decided to hang up his boots and began studying to be a coach after graduating from the ISEF in Lisbon as a physical education teacher.
It was during those years that he married Matilde Faria in 1989, with whom he had two children: Matilde Faria Mourinho Félix (1996) and José Mário Faria Mourinho Félix (2000), also a footballer who played goalkeeper like his paternal grandfather.
A Catholic, close to the Portuguese Social Democratic Party, and a polyglot (he speaks Portuguese, English, Italian, French, Spanish, and Catalan), he won practically everything in his club coaching career, including the historic Treble with Inter in the 2009/2010 season.
Here is José Mourinho’s trophy list with the main trophies won:
- Champions League: Porto 2004, Inter 2010
- UEFA Cup/Europa League: Porto 2003, Manchester United 2017
- Portuguese League: Porto 2003, 2004
- Portuguese Cup: Porto 2003
- English League: Chelsea 2004, 2006, 2015
- FA Cup: Chelsea 2007;
- English League Cup: Chelsea 2005, 2007, 2015; Manchester United 2017
- Italian League: Inter Milan 2009, 2010
- Coppa Italia: Inter Milan 2010
- Spanish League: Real Madrid 2012
- Copa del Rey: Real Madrid 2011
- Conference League: Roma 2022
An impressive run of success, however, hasn’t prevented him from being sacked several times in his last stints in charge. After his mutual termination from Chelsea in December 2015, he first parted ways with Manchester United, then with Tottenham, Roma, and, most recently, Fenerbahce.
Original article published on Money.it Italy. Original title: Quanto guadagna José Mourinho? Stipendio e patrimonio dello Special One
