Jose Mourinho's huge net worth, wife who made England call, son's football hopes

Jose Mourinho is a name that will seldom be forgotten by English football. His three Premier League titles with Chelsea, and a Europa League victory at Manchester United were the crowning moments of his top-flight career, although his club tenures often ended tumultuously, especially considering his Tottenham exit, which occured less than a week before a League Cup final.

Beyond England, his time with Porto, Real Madrid, Inter and most recently Roma were similarly marked by triumphs before ending on sour notes, and the Portuguese now finds himself at the helm of Turkish powerhouses Fenerbahce.

As The Special One gears up to face his former employers, United, in the Europa League and potentially signal the end for current boss Erik ten Hag, Express Sport delves into the Portuguese maestro’s life off the pitch, including his impressive wealth, marriage to his childhood love, and a son carving their own paths in football.

Healthy net worth

Mourinho’s various managerial stints have earned him an impressive sum, resulting in an estimated fortune that slightly surpasses the £100million mark, reports the Mirror. Significantly, the payouts he received upon being sacked by his employers have greatly contributed to this figure. Notably, he infamously pocketed a £15m payout from Spurs when they let him go in 2021.

Manchester United, set to fly out to Istanbul this Thursday evening to play against Mourinho’s Fenerbahce, forked out a hefty amount to spell 61-year-old’s departure, and in 2015, it emerged that Chelsea had given Mourinho £12.5m in order to let him go.

His yearly earnings before being sacked have often exceeded £10m, racking up a staggering £97.6m during his time in English football, yet, he’s on a slightly humbler £8.75m-a-year contract in Turkey.

Wife and the England job

After having met his spouse, Matilde Faria, during their youth in Setubal, the couple has now celebrated 35 years of marriage. They tied the knot back in 1989 and have two children: a daughter Matilde, born in 1996, and son Jose Mario Jr, born in 2000.

Interestingly, the manager’s wife was instrumental in dissuading Mourinho from taking the England job in 2014, as, during his return stint at Chelsea, he was lined up as a potential successor to Steve McClaren for The Three Lions.

“My players said, ‘the guys from Manchester United and Liverpool call us and say to us: Tell your boss to come.’ I had lots of positive things to push me,” Mourinho admitted.

“My wife told me not to take it, and she was right. It was the right decision. We are talking about seven years ago… and I cannot wait two years for a big competition. I cannot be spending two years playing against Kazakhstan and San Marino.”

Goalkeeping son

Mourinho’s son Jose Jr, now 24, is charting a similar course to his illustrious father, eyeing a transition from the pitch to the technical area. Formerly harbouring ambitions as a goalkeeper, he spent three years at Fulham before being let go in 2017, with aspirations of emulating his dad’s coaching success.

Despite currently being away from the sport, Jose Jr might yet realise his coaching ambitions, especially if his father’s predictions hold true. Back in 2018, while Mourinho senior managed Manchester United, he gave his son a taste of management by allowing him to sit on the bench and analyse the team’s performance post-match.

“In a period of a few bad results one day, he comes up with some analysis on my team obviously suffering because dad wasn’t doing well,” Mourinho revealed. “We had lost to Watford and Manchester City, I think, and he came with the stats of the team. I showed them to my assistants, and I told them, ‘be careful as one day this boy will take one of your places’.”