Roma sack Jose Mourinho
Jose Mourinho has been sacked as Roma manager with the club ninth in Serie A.
The Portuguese, 60, took over in May 2021 and led Roma to the Europa Conference League title a year later and the Europa League final in 2023.
But they are five points off Serie A’s final Champions League qualifying spot and last week were knocked out of the Coppa Italia by city rivals Lazio.
Owners Dan and Ryan Friedkin thanked Mourinho “for the passion and commitment he has shown” as boss.
“We will always have great memories of his stewardship, but we believe that, in the best interests of the club, immediate change is necessary,” they added in a statement.
Mourinho received a second successive red card in the Lazio loss and afterwards compared himself to Harry Potter, suggesting his profile was “raising expectations” for what Roma could achieve.
That result was followed by a 3-1 league defeat by AC Milan on Sunday, which left Roma five points adrift of fourth-placed Fiorentina and led to his dismissal.
Victory in the 2022 Conference League secured Roma’s first major European title and earned Mourinho huge support among the club’s fanbase.
But after they were beaten on penalties by Sevilla in last season’s Europa League final the Italian club took just five points from their first six Serie A matches in a poor start to the current campaign.
With Roma 16th in the table, the former Manchester United, Chelsea, Real Madrid and Tottenham boss said he had rejected the “craziest offer” to leave last summer.
Mourinho’s contract was due to expire at the end of the current season.
