José Mourinho's arrival boosts SL Benfica shares by almost 2%

The last 24 hours have been a whirlwind at Sport Lisboa e Benfica, culminating in the dismissal of coach Bruno Lage, made official in the early hours of Wednesday by president Rui Costa. His successor, it appears, will be José Mourinho, although an agreement has not yet been reached between the two parties. However, and despite not being official, the arrival of the "Special One " has already been felt on the Lisbon stock exchange, which saw the club's shares close Wednesday's session up 1.83%, to €6.68.

At the start of the session, SL Benfica shares were valued at 6.70 euros, having fallen to 6.66 euros by midday and rising again near the close to 6.68 euros, compared to 6.56 euros the previous day, which precipitated a whole scenario of change for the Luz side, which culminated in the dismissal of Bruno Lage after the defeat in the opening round of the Champions League by 2-3, against Qarabag, from Azerbaijan.

Mourinho returns in new election period

Fate would have it that history repeats itself 25 years later. It was September 20, 2000, when José Mourinho was introduced as coach of SL Benfica by then-president João Vale e Azevedo, who, like Rui Costa, would be running for election a month later. Six wins, three draws, and two losses later, José Mourinho slammed the door in December, curiously after a 3-0 victory over Sporting CP.

José Mourinho justified his decision by saying he felt like "a temporary manager," as João Vale e Azevedo was defeated in the election by Manuel Vilarinho, who preferred Toni to fill the position. The "Special One" left Benfica in 6th place after the 13th round, the position in which the team would finish the season.

The Portuguese coach is expected to make his debut on the SL Benfica bench next Saturday, September 20, against AVS, with the Reds' fans hoping that the result will be different from the one that happened 25 years ago, when the 'Eagles' were defeated at Bessa by Boavista by 1-0.

Praise for a squad worth over 230 million

On August 27th, José Mourinho heaped praise on the SL Benfica team, which had just eliminated 'his' Fenerbahçe in the Champions League playoff .

"We lost to a better team than us, a stronger, more experienced team, with more solutions. It's a club that knows and has experience in these types of matches; it's a Champions League team, with a Champions League stadium," he said at the post-match press conference at the Estádio da Luz.

José Mourinho will now manage a squad valued at €232 million and spending an average of €15.2 million. The figures are published in the Football Observatory (CIES) report listing the 100 most expensive squads in the world, placing the Reds in 43rd place, ahead of Sporting CP (51st) and FC Porto (53rd).

The club's squad value was contributed by the more than €100 million invested by SAD, with highlights including the signings of Richardo Ríos from Palmeiras for €27 million, Franjo Ivanovic from Union St. Gilloise for €23 million, and especially Sudakov from Shakhtar Donetsk, who initially costs €6.75 million on loan until the end of the season, to which will be added €20.25 million stipulated in the mandatory purchase clause, to which a further €5 million can be added for objectives, for a total of €32 million.