Jose Mourinho continues to talk up a contract extension and Benfica, but it seems the club haven’t changed their stance.
Mourinho signed a two year deal when he arrived at the start of the season but he later made it clear he has a break clause at the end of the current campaign.
That was back when he was riding high and linked to Real Madrid and Portugal, links that have faded now Benfica look set to go trophyless.
Mourinho wants new Benfica deal
Asked at the weekend about his future, Mourinho said: “It only depends on the club’s will, it doesn’t depend on any connection on my part.
“It doesn’t depend on investment in the squad either.”
Yet despite him seemingly wanting a more rigid contract, experts don’t see it happening.
Record editor Sérgio Krithinas commented: “I think [president] Rui Costa was quite burned by the contract renewal of Roger Schmidt in the 2022–23 season.
“Everything had been going well for Benfica up until around March. At that time, the renewal worked as a kind of vote of confidence in the coach before the decisive stages of the league and the Champions League.
“But it ended up creating a problem that dragged on for quite a while, with a very high salary for Schmidt and a contract that later became difficult to manage.
“So I think it’s natural that Rui Costa learned from that mistake—what turned out to be a mistake.
“I don’t know if it was a mistake at the time—but time showed that it was. We also saw André Villas-Boas do something similar, even earlier, this season.”
Mourinho won’t get new Benfica deal
Krithinas thinks it’s likely Costa won’t do the same with Mourinho as things could change quickly next season.
He continued: “It was a mistake because things eventually went wrong. Rui Costa recognizes that, and that’s why he’s being more cautious now.
“Renewing with José Mourinho isn’t the same as renewing with just any coach—it means extending the contract of a very expensive manager with a very high salary.
“It doesn’t make sense to renew just to keep one more year; it effectively becomes a long-term commitment.
“And at this point, when Benfica doesn’t yet know if they’ll be in the Champions League next season, and doesn’t know how this season will end.
“I think Rui Costa is waiting and being more careful to see how things unfold before making a decision for next season.”
He added: “No club wants that—starting a season, preparing everything, and then firing the coach right after the transfer window closes. It’s like starting again from a worse position.
“That’s what happened to Benfica in the last two years—they were constantly trying to compensate for lost time.
“If José Mourinho starts next season, which is the most likely scenario, he will be Benfica’s coach—it’s the logical expectation for everyone at the club right now.
“And if that happens, he won’t be sacked in September. Because if he were, it wouldn’t just be Mourinho leaving—everyone would have to go.
“It wouldn’t just be about firing a coach for the third consecutive year in September.”
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