José Mourinho was at Benfica’s campus in Seixal on Monday, and it is now being treated as likely his last day as the club’s coach. Benfica’s SAD, led by Rui Costa, already knows Mourinho does not accept the renewal proposal on the table and will not stay for the extra season written into the contract.
Once that refusal is made formal, Mourinho or his agent, Jorge Mendes, will have to pay a termination clause to Benfica. The value is said to sit somewhere between three million euros and seven million euros, a final bill that could shape how cleanly the move away from Lisbon is closed.
Mourinho is described as practically certain to become the new head coach of Real Madrid. Fabrizio Romano said there is total agreement between Mourinho and Real Madrid on a two-year contract with one optional year, and his arrival in the Spanish capital is expected after Saturday’s final match against Athletic Bilbao.
That timeline leaves Benfica with little room to drift. The club is expected to accelerate its search for a coach in the next few days and make decisions within two weeks, while Rui Costa will also deliver the official season review later this week after a campaign widely seen as underperforming.
Marco Silva, who coaches Fulham, remains the main candidate to take charge. Benfica had already made solid contact with Silva and he was pleased by the interest, but the move is not settled. He is under contract pressure in London because his deal is ending and he has a renewal proposal there, and he has publicly admitted that new meetings are taking place.
Silva is still waiting for a formal invitation from Benfica, and it is not certain he will accept. He also wants to finish the Premier League season before making his next step, with Fulham hosting Newcastle on the final league matchday. That makes the Portuguese club’s next move more delicate, not less.
Ruben Amorim has re-emerged in recent hours as another possible target, and Rui Costa is said to be personally trying to convince him to move to Benfica. But the picture around Amorim has not really changed. In April 2026, A BOLA reported that his plan remained the same and that he did not intend to return to coaching in 2026/27 unless a good opportunity came up abroad.
That leaves Benfica with a familiar problem: the club needs a new manager fast, but its preferred options are either not finished with their current jobs or not inclined to make the move. The search will now move quickly, and the next two weeks should tell whether Benfica lands a clear successor before Mourinho’s departure to Madrid becomes official.
