How much Tottenham paid to sack Jose Mourinho
By Tom Gott
Tottenham Hotspur have decided to sack Jose Mourinho as first-team manager 17 months into a three-and-a-half year contract.
Chairman Daniel Levy is understood to have grown concerned by Spurs' poor recent form - three defeats in their last six games - which has seen them eliminated from the Europa League and drop five points behind in the race for Champions League football.
When the idea of sacking Mourinho first came to light earlier this year, reports suggested that he would be entitled to the best part of £30m to offload their high-earning manager. However, it was later clarified that his earnings at the club are heavily incentivised and a compensation fee could be significantly less.
According to several sources, including The Independent and Paul O'Keefe, Spurs have agreed a severance fee of around £16m to part ways with Mourinho.
The reduced compensation fee also has nothing to do with Spurs' involvement in the Super League. Rumours began circling on social media suggesting Mourinho had been sacked on the spot after refusing to lead training in the wake of the announcement, but Levy actually came to the decision to sack Mourinho on Friday, well before the Super League proposal came to light.
Don't think too hard about where Spurs have suddenly got the cash to fire Mourinho...
— Hunter Godson (@HunterGodson) April 19, 2021
With an extra £16m coming his way, Mourinho will now have earned close to £80m in compensation fees just from being sacked throughout his career.
Chelsea had to hand Mourinho £18m when they sacked the boss in 2007, five years before he was given a £17.5m pay-off to leave Real Madrid.
Mourinho then took another £12.5m from the Blues when he left Stamford Bridge for the second time in 2015, before earning a cool £15m from Manchester United when he was replaced by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in December 2018.
That's around £80m Mourinho has pocketed because people don't think he is good at his job. Not bad.
In terms of his successor, coach Ryan Mason is expected to lead the side until the end of the season, with Spurs looking at a long list of potential appointments, which includes RB Leipzig's Julian Nagelsmann and Leicester's Brendan Rodgers.