ROME (AFP) – Jose Mourinho said goodbye to Roma on Tuesday after the Serie A club sacked the ‘Special One’ midway through what has been a deeply disappointing third season in the Italian capital.
In a short message, Mourinho simply said “Arrivederci, Roma” to supporters on social media, alongside an image of him holding the Europa Conference League trophy won in 2022.
Roma said that Mourinho would leave alongside his staff “with immediate effect”, adding that it was “in the best interests of the club” after a series of poor results left the team way off the pace in the Italian top flight. Mourinho’s contract was due to expire in June and although he had repeatedly stated that he wanted to stay on, talks about an extension to his deal never materialised.
Rumours of his departure grew more persistent after Sunday’s dismal 3-1 defeat at AC Milan which left Roma ninth in Serie A, five points away from the Champions League positions.
“We would like to thank Jose 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 in a statement.
“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.
“We wish Jose and his assistants all the best in their future endeavours.”
The 60-year-old Portuguese was a shock appointment in 2021, Roma’s announcement of his arrival as the replacement to Paulo Fonseca coming almost completely out of the blue.
He immediately became a huge fan favourite, with his image popping up on walls around Rome as supporters dreamed of an end to a trophy drought which stretched back to 2008.
And in his first season he guided Roma to the inaugural Conference League, a triumph which brought Mourinho to tears on the pitch and made him a famous figure to one of Europe’s most passionate and success-starved fan bases.
He then came to within a penalty shootout of winning back-to-back European finals, Roma falling at the last hurdle against Sevilla in last season’s Europa League.
