- Legendary manager Jose Mourinho has returned to the touchline a few weeks after being sacked by Fenerbahce
- Paul Pogba is the most expensive signing by manager Jose Mourinho
- United paid a whopping £124.2 million to Juventus to bring back Pogba
Who are the most expensive signings by Jose Mourinho? Legendary manager Jose Mourinho has returned to the touchline a few weeks after being sacked by Fenerbahce. The 62-year-old was appointed new Benfica head coach on Thursday, September 18, on a deal running until the summer of 2017.
Mourinho started his managerial career at Benfica but left after ten matches in charge following a dispute with club president. He is now back to where it all started and is looking forward to leading the Portuguese club today when they take on AVS in the Primeira Liga.
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Mourinho has been on the headlines for the past few days after making remarks that undermine Fenerbahce. The Portuguese stated that he made a ‘mistake’ joining the Turkish club as it wasn’t on his ‘level’. He believes that he’s a coach who should be managing the biggest clubs in the world.
Well, many would agree considering Mourinho has previously managed clubs such as Chelsea, Real Madrid, Manchester United and Inter Milan. He has also coached top players such as Samuel Eto’o, Cristiano Ronaldo, Didier Drogba and Paul Pogba.
And that brings us to our today’s topic – who are the most expensive signings by Jose Mourinho? Without further ado, let’s get started.
1. Paul Pogba – £124.2 Million
Paul Pogba’s return to his boyhood club Manchester United in 2016 was supposed to usher in a new era at Old Trafford. United paid a whopping £124.2 million to Juventus to bring back Pogba. While we can all agree that the Frenchman is one of the best midfielders of all time, his adventure under Mourinho wasn’t quite ideal.
Eventually he fell out with the Portuguese, which is one of the reasons the manager was sacked by United. Pogba later fell out with the club and fans before leaving in June 2022.
2. Romelu Lukaku – £100.2 Million
Romelu Lukaku had a successful four-year spell at Everton, which led to Manchester United signing him for £100.2 million. In his first season at Old Trafford, the Belgian scored 16 Premier League goals. However, he later struggled and was offloaded to Inter Milan in August 2019.
Lukaku later returned to the Premier League and signed with Chelsea but struggled to make the desired impact. He is currently playing for Serie A side Napoli.
3. Fred – £69.8 Million
Fred joined Manchester United in August 2018 for £69.8 million. However, he ended up working under Mourinho for only half a season before the Portuguese manager was dismissed from his position by the club. Fred initially struggled under Mourinho but made his mark during Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s reign.
The Brazilian midfielder recently worked with Mourinho at Fenerbahce before before the Portuguese was dismissed from his role.
4. Nemanja Matic – £52.9 Million
Nemanja Matic is one of the few players who have represented both Chelsea and Manchester United. Mourinho regards the Serbian as one of the best players he has coached throughout his career. The two first worked together at Chelsea and after Mourinho moved cities to join Manchester United, Matic followed him.
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United paid Chelsea a transfer fee of £52.9 million to acquire Matic, making him one of the most expensive signings by Jose Mourinho. The Serbian and Mourinho met again in 2017 at AS Roma.
5. Andriy Shevchenko – £51.9 Million
Besides being one of the most expensive signing by Jose Mourinho, Andriy Shevchenko is also among the biggest failures of the legendary manager’s career. Shevchenko joined Chelsea in the summer of 2006 from AC Milan for £51.9 million. He had recorded 28 goals and 10 assists in 40 games for the Italian giants the previous season and was considered as one of the best strikers in the world.
However, things didn’t quite work out for Shevchenko and Mourinho at Chelsea, as the Ukrainian only managed 14 goals in over 50 appearances in his first season at Stamford Bridge.
