´I am a loyal person´ – Mourinho denies holding Portugal talks

Jose Mourinho has denied holding talks to take charge of the Portugal National Team and reaffirmed his commitment to Fenerbahce.

Mourinho arrived in Istanbul to great fanfare last year, yet his first campaign in charge of Fenerbahce has been anything but a roaring success.

They were eliminated from the Europa League at the last-16 stage by Rangers and went out in the last eight of the Turkish Cup, losing to fierce rivals Galatasaray.

Galatasaray also sealed the Super Lig title by beating Kayserispor 3-0 on Sunday, establishing an unassailable eight-point lead over Fenerbahce with two games to play.

Yet Mourinho has continued to be linked with roles elsewhere, and reports in his native Portugal recently suggested he could replace Roberto Martinez at the end of the Selecao’s Nations League campaign.

Portugal will face in the semi-finals of the competition, which they won in 2019, in June, with Spain or awaiting the victors in the final.

However, Mourinho denied those reports at a press conference after his team beat Eyupspor 2-1 on Sunday, saying: “Yes, I can deny that I had any meeting with the Portuguese Football Federation. I am a loyal person.

“The only time I had direct with a club, I informed Fenerbahce. It wasn’t now, it was in January.

“I had a meeting with a club. I didn’t accept the offer. But I informed my club even before the meeting.”

Mourinho has fanned the flames of Fenerbahce’s rivalry with Galatasaray since arriving in Turkey, and he took another swipe at the 25-time champions on Sunday.

Show them the real ones, coach pic.twitter.com/q60eacqpUb

— 25x Turkish Champions (@Galatasaray) May 18, 2025

Galatasaray allowed goalkeeper Fernando Muslera to take a late penalty when 2-0 up in their title-clinching win, which Mourinho believes was in bad taste.

“In relation to the way Galatasaray celebrates the title, I think when you celebrate something, it shows your human dimension,” Mourinho said.

“They celebrate the title with one episode that reflects exactly what they are, which is when they were winning 2-0 and had the goalkeeper take a penalty in the 90th minute. I think that is a perfect image of what they are.”