June 3rd 2024.
At his first press conference as the new manager of Fenerbahce, Jose Mourinho made it clear that he has no interest in signing former players from his time at Roma, including Romelu Lukaku. The 61-year-old was welcomed by thousands of fans at the Sukru Saracoglu Stadium in Istanbul over the weekend as he takes on the role of replacing Ismail Kartal as the head coach of the Turkish Super Lig club.
Despite losing only one game and accumulating 99 points, Fenerbahce finished second last season behind their city rivals Galatasaray. Mourinho, who led Roma to their first ever European trophy in 2022 with a win in the Europa Conference League, is expected to bring in new players to strengthen the squad. However, he made it clear that he will not be looking to his former club for reinforcements.
During his two-and-a-half seasons at Roma, Mourinho also managed Lukaku at Manchester United and Chelsea. It has been reported that the Portuguese coach will try to bring the Belgian striker to Turkey, but Mourinho has shut down these rumors, stating that he has no interest in signing any of his former Roma players.
"I want to make it 100 percent my word," Mourinho said at the press conference. "I have zero interest in any player from AS Roma, zero interest. It's not the time to rush or make emotional decisions. It's time to come and make things right, which is what we will try to do."
Responding to reports that he had already contacted some of his former players about joining him at Fenerbahce, Mourinho dismissed them as mere rumors. "I understand Fenerbahce is not different, but the truth is that I have never spoken about a single player for a possible transfer. Everything is about the project and the stability we want to find. We will move towards the profiles that we need to improve the team. I have not spoken about any names with anyone."
Reflecting on his first few days at Fenerbahce, Mourinho expressed his gratitude towards the fans for their warm welcome. "I want to thank every Fenerbahce supporter who came here yesterday, even those who were celebrating the fact that I joined the club from home. I used to joke and say that I am Jose Mourinho, but now I can proudly say that I am the Fenerbahce coach."
Speaking about his ambitions at the club, Mourinho stated that his ultimate goal is to win the Turkish Super Lig, while also acknowledging the achievements of previous winners. "Our ambition is to feel the heat, to feel the pressure of having to win every match in order to be champions. That is the reality of Fenerbahce. For me, that means ambition. It means I am not in my comfort zone. If I could start training tomorrow and play next weekend, especially here, I would do it."
Mourinho also recognized the impact that the project at Fenerbahce had on his decision to join the club. "The project had an impact on me, and now it's my time to have an impact on the project. While I cannot make any promises, our main target and dream is to win the Turkish Super Lig, with utmost respect to the clubs that have won in previous years. We want to fight for that, it's our main target."
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