Mourinho: I didn't have the opportunity to play for the championship at Fenerbahçe

Jose Mourinho, the manager who took over Benfica after leaving Fenerbahçe, said of his career at the yellow-dark blue club , “My life there was short, with little intensity, little empathy, little passion.”

The Portuguese coach spoke before the league match against Rio Ave tomorrow.

Mourinho responded to a question about the change of president at the Fenerbahçe extraordinary general assembly held yesterday as follows:

"The Fenerbahçe elections don't really concern me. If you ask me if I'm happy that he (Ali Koç) wasn't re-elected, no, I'm not. If he had won and you asked me again, would I be happy, no, I wouldn't.

"My life there was short, with little intensity, little empathy, little passion. I wish all the best for the players who remained there."

Mourinho stated that he had no contact with Benfica president Rui Costa or sporting director Mario Branco during the summer.

Branco signed with Benfica a month after leaving his position as sporting director at Fenerbahçe in June.

The Portuguese coach continued:

"It's difficult to be very close friends with someone I only knew through football. If we'd built something significant between us over the past year, he was a serious professional, and when he came to Benfica and there was a 25 percent chance he'd play against Fenerbahçe, our contact ended. There was zero contact."

When Benfica lost to Qarabağ, I was in Barcelona with my wife, and the next day the president called and asked if it would be meaningful for us to talk. I said we could. And that was the end of the story.

If you want to believe me, thank you. If you want to believe in fantasy, if you want to feed a story that has no story, there's nothing I can do.

If I had stayed home, enjoyed my family, lived in London, and brought my family to Portugal, I would have earned more money working at Benfica. So, why am I here? Because I love working.

"I really miss competing for Benfica's goals. I miss playing for the championship. I didn't have the opportunity to play for the championship at Roma or Fenerbahçe. This is a great opportunity for me, both as a coach and as a person."