AS Roma on Tuesday parted ways with manager Jose Mourinho and the Serie A club’s owners have said that the decision was made with the “best interests” of the team in mind.
“AS Roma can confirm that Jose Mourinho and his coaching staff will leave the club with immediate effect,” the club said in a statement. “Further updates on the new first team coaching staff will follow imminently.”
Roma, currently ninth in the league, are 22 points behind Inter Milan after a 3-1 loss to AC Milan, struggling to recover from injury-related setbacks, including striker Paulo Dybala, Sky News reported.
Roma have taken just four points from their last five league matches and were eliminated from the Coppa Italia last week in a 1-0 defeat to rivals Lazio.
Mourinho compared himself to Harry Potter, stating his role at the club was raising fan expectations for success and addressing critics as an excellent example of professionalism despite his team’s recent poor results.
“We would like to thank Jose on behalf of all of us at AS Roma for his passion and efforts since his arrival at the club,” club owners Dan and Ryan Friedkin said in a statement.
“We will always have great memories of his tenure at Roma, but we believe that an immediate change is in the best interests of the club. We wish Jose and his assistants all the best in their future endeavours.”
Mourinho, a former coach of top European clubs like Porto, Chelsea, Inter Milan, Real Madrid, and Manchester United, was appointed as Roma’s coach in 2021.
Under his leadership, Roma won the third-tier Europa Conference League in 2022 and reached the Europa League final in 2023.
Roma next host 18th-placed Verona on Saturday.