Jose Mourinho will always be a difficult name to hear for Celtic fans.
Before he was the household name that he is today, his Porto side defeated Martin O’Neill’s Celts in the UEFA Cup final… and they were willing to do anything to do so.
That was Mourinho’s first European trophy; he and Porto won the Champions League a year later. He has since established himself as one of the best managers of his generation.
In 2026, Mourinho isn’t quite the footballing royalty he once was. Sacked from his last two roles with Roma and Fenerbahce (despite winning a European trophy in the first), could he now be an option for Celtic?
The panel on the Go Radio Football Show haven’t ruled it out.
I want the next manager of Celtic to be…
Jose Mourinho to Celtic debated by panel
Mourinho is currently back in Portugal with Benfica, where he oversaw another European masterclass by securing Champions League qualification with a last-minute goal against Real Madrid scored by his goalkeeper.
His contract at the Lisbon giants has a break clause at the end of the season, and there are rumours in Portugal that this could be triggered to pave the way for ex-Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim.
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The timing could, therefore, be perfect for a blockbuster Celtic move in the summer. On the radio show, host Paul Cooney got the ball rolling.
He said: “Jose Mourinho hasn’t ruled [Celtic] out. Jose doesn’t rule out.
“He came, as you know, just a year ago, playing Rangers. He was asked, ‘would you come to Glasgow? Could you be at Ibrox’?
“Obviously, Barry [Ferguson] was the interim manager at that point. So, he doesn’t say no, does he?”
Ex-Rangers winger Jamie Murphy said: “No, he doesn’t. Obviously, a world-class manager… it would be brilliant if you got a manager like him in the league.
“Whether he does or not, and whether he would he was just being nice… I’m not sure.”
Cooney replied? “Could you imagine him and Dermot Desmond, what’s going to happen, how that one ends!
“Because it always ends, doesn’t it, with Jose. At the beginning, it’s great. And he wins so many trophies. He’s a serial winner.”
Darren O’Dea, who left his role as Player Pathways Manager at Celtic last summer, said: “You’re talking about a generational manager.
“I’m uncomfortable talking about someone of that ilk coming to Scottish football.
“Could it happen? I mean… of course, he’s at a level in his career where he maybe just fancies something different.
“But at the moment, it would feel a bit pie in the sky.”
Go on, then…
Jose Mourinho at Celtic: would it work?
This one is bound to split opinion among Celtic fans.
On one hand, Mourinho is a master man-manager with a proven record of winning titles in a variety of countries.
But he certainly isn’t known for playing ‘the Celtic way’, and many of his recent high-profile roles have ended acrimoniously with an underwhelming return of success.
Never say never in football, and if it were to happen one day, you’d be brave to ever write ‘The Special One’ off.
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