Mourinho’s Loyalty to Fenerbahçe Shines Through as He Rejects Massive Saudi Deal
Giovanni Becali, a close friend of Fenerbahçe’s head coach Jose Mourinho, claimed that the Portuguese manager turned down an offer of 150 million euros.
Mourinho signed with Fenerbahçe at the start of the season. Romanian football agent and longtime friend of Mourinho, Giovanni Becali, revealed the amount Mourinho rejected before signing with the Yellow-Navy Blues.
The famous agent stated that a newly promoted team in the Saudi Arabian 1st League had approached Mourinho with a proposal.
“150 MILLION EUROS FOR 3 YEARS”
“The world’s richest oil company, Aramco! They are the most famous, the wealthiest, and they offered him 150 million euros for three seasons. Mourinho thought about it a lot… They came to Bucharest by plane without asking for a penny. I waited for them at Băneasa, they stayed with me for two days, and on the third day, he attended the gala.”
Becali also shared Mourinho’s reason for rejecting the offer and choosing Fenerbahçe:
“Giovanni, I’m not going to Saudi Arabia, I’m going to Turkey. I have a two-year contract worth 15 million euros per year. It’s still close to Europe, and Fenerbahçe is a good team.”
Speaking about Mourinho, Becali explained how their friendship began. He said it started in 1998 when Mourinho, who was a scout for Barcelona at the time, attended the European Under-21 Championship hosted by Romania.
“OUR FRIENDSHIP STARTED IN 1998”
“There was the European Championship in Bucharest in ’98. It was a youth tournament, under-21. Among the invitees were Arrigo Sacchi, Claudio Ranieri, and many other top scouts. Barcelona sent Mourinho. That’s how our friendship began.”
