The English media released new details on Monday afternoon about José Mourinho’s resignation from Tottenham Hotspur. The trainer had an ongoing contract until mid-2023 with an annual salary of 11.6 million euros. His ‘fucking premium’ therefore amounts to a maximum of 23.2 million euros, de suspects Daily Mail. Mourinho is officially with gardening leave, which means that he will be paid until the moment the contract ends or he finds a new job.
The decision to fire Mourinho was very difficult for Daniel Levy, assures him The Telegraph. It was a long-cherished wish of the chairman to appoint Mourinho; Levy already made a first attempt in 2007. Not surprisingly, therefore, the president was the last person to be convinced of the need to fire Mourinho. In February, Levy was already whispered internally that he would do well to appoint a new trainer. There was increasing resistance to the ‘win-at-the-cost-of-everything experiment’, such as The Telegraph describes the tactics that Mourinho uses.
Internally, it was feared that the field game would not be accepted by supporters when they are allowed to return to the stadium. Moreover, there was division between Mourinho and some of the players. Levy initially wanted to stick with Mourinho and believed he could still lead the club to Champions League entry, either through a top four spot in the Premier League or by winning the Europa League. In the meantime, however, the top four of the competition is far away for the number seven and Dinamo Zagreb was too strong in the sixteenth final of the Europa League.
Levy told ‘relatives’ two weeks ago that he had no plans to carry out a change of guard before the end of the season. But the loss of points against Everton (2-2) on Friday also changed Levy. Tottenham is now five points behind number four West Ham United. The Spurs play against Manchester City in the final of the EFL Cup on Sunday and Levy thought it important that something happened before that match. Youth coach Ryan Mason and assistant Chris Powell will do the honors on the bench for the time being.
Tottenham disputes that Mourinho’s resignation has to do with the announcement of the Super League, although the revenues from that tournament could be useful in coughing up the Portuguese’s huge severance pay. The results and the field game were the main reasons for his dismissal. Furthermore, not all players were behind him anymore. There were concerns within the group of players about the way in which Mourinho has pushed a number of players aside. That already started in the season opener against Everton, when Dele Alli was changed during the break to the great surprise of the players group.
Furthermore, players such as Danny Rose, Harry Winks, Steven Bergwijn, Serge Aurier and Gareth Bale have been ignored by Mourinho at various times. Bale did not get off the bench against Everton on Friday. The dissatisfaction was already exposed by goalkeeper Hugo Lloris last month after the lost Europa League match against Dinamo Zagreb (3-0). “We are an ambitious club, but the team just embodies what is happening within the club at the moment. It lacks a foundation and a foundation,” said Lloris. “The hardest thing in football is to line up as a team. You have to keep supporting the team no matter what the coach decides. If you only support the team when you are in the starting eleven, it creates problems for the team.”