Jose Mourinho accused of leaving mega hotel bill unpaid after Fenerbahce sacking

Martin Macdonald

• 12 Nov 2025 11:32 GMT
• 3 min read

News

As well as a healthy compensation package after being sacked, Jose Mourinho has left Fenerbahce with an expensive hotel bill after leaving the club earlier this season.

The Portuguese manager was Fenerbahce manager for 15 months but left after the Turkish side were knocked out of the Champions League play-off stage by Benfica who, funnily enough, he is now the head coach of.

Mourinho is known for being a pragmatic manager, and former Fenerbahce president Ali Koc previously explained that it was ultimately that style that led to his dismissal, telling reporters:

“Why did we let go of Mourinho? I'm explaining it here for the first time. It was a bitter parting. Our chemistry was perfect, and his accomplishments are evident. Just being able to bring him here was a great achievement.

“Above all, it was difficult to part with someone I was friends with. We knew our coach was a defensive player when we brought him in. But we talked about the need to play more dominantly at the end of the season. Earning 99 goals and 99 points is our genetic code.

“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 play better football at this point. This kind of football works in Europe, but in Turkey, we have to crush them in most matches. We're struggling to get ahead after falling behind in every match.”

Mourinho lived in Istanbul at the Four Seasons hotel and Turkish media outlet Yenicag Gazetesi reports that he tallied up a bill worth 36.5m liras (€747,000 or £656,000). The former Manchester United, Chelsea and Real Madrid boss stands accused of leaving this unpaid, according to the Daily Mail.

The cheapest room at that hotel is reportedly £1,000 per night so it's easy to see why the bill was so high.

The manager stayed in one of the most luxurious suites of the hotel, which is situated on the banks of the Bosphorus.

Why did Jose Mourinho leave Fenerbahce?

Ultimately, Mourinho himself didn't believe he and Fenerbahce were a good fit.

“My career so far has been rich; I've coached the biggest clubs in the world, in different countries," he said not long after being dismissed.

"I made the wrong choice; sometimes I don't have the right word in Portuguese... no regrets, because regrets don't help us at all in life, but the awareness of what we did well and what we did wrong exists. I made a mistake going to Fenerbahce; it wasn't my cultural level, it wasn't my football level, it wasn't my level. Obviously, I gave everything until the last day.”