Mourinho sacked because we want 'better football' - Fenerbahce chief

Fenerbahce president Alic Koç has described the club's sacking of José Mourinho "painful" but necessary in order for his team to play "better football."

Mourinho, 62, was dismissed by Fenerbahce on Aug. 29 in the aftermath of the team's 1-0 aggregate loss to Benfica in the Champions League qualification playoffs.

"Why did we fire Mourinho? I'll say it for the first time, it was a painful dismissal," Koc told Turkish sports outlet Fanatik.

"Parting ways with someone who is above all a friend was tough. Being eliminated by Benfica wasn't a problem, but the way we were eliminated was unacceptable. This made me feel like last year's football would continue. We parted ways because we believed this squad would be playing better football at this point."

Koç said he believes Mourinno's defensive-minded tactics were holding his team back.

"We knew our coach would put emphasis on defence when we brought him in," he said. "But we talked about the need to play more dominantly at the end of the season. Scoring 99 goals and getting 99 points [as Fenerbahce had done in the Superlig in the 2023-24 season] is our genetic code."

Koç, however, does not regret hiring Mourinho over a year ago even though the former Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur manager failed to land silverware during his stay in Istanbul.

Fener finished second in the Super Lig, 11 points adrift of rivals Galatasaray, who eliminated Mourinho's side in the quarterfinals of the Turkish Cup. They were knocked out of the Europa League by Rangers.

"Bringing him here was a huge success," Koç said. "Our chemistry worked, the successes were there."