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DOWNBEAT JOSE MOURINHO IS PICTURED LEAVING SPURS’ TRAINING BASE FOR THE LAST TIME

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Mourinho, 58, was axed by the club on Monday morning and left the complex for the final time

Jose Mourinho has been spotted leaving Tottenham’s training ground hours after the axe was wielded on his tumultuous reign.

The 58-year-old was dismissed on Monday morning with the club on course to miss out on the Champions League and having exited the Europa League in humiliating fashion.

The 2-2 draw at Everton proved to be the final straw for Daniel Levy and now, soon after being told of his sacking, Mourinho has been snapped being driven away from the Hotspur Way complex for the final time.

The former Manchester United and Real Madrid coach, who has been sacked four times in England, was seen in the passenger seat of a sleek vehicle. 

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Sacked Spurs boss Mourinho carried his belongings back to his home from his car  

It looked as though dismay was etched across the face of the crestfallen Special One as he left.

He was seen leaving the Spurs training complex just after 3.30pm on Monday morning and arrived back in his west London home later on Monday afternoon.

Mourinho was seen taking his belongings from his Spurs office back into his home with goalkeeper coach Nuno Santos helping him. The items included several large images of the Portuguese coach’s career highlights. 

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As he arrived back at his home, Mourinho refused to open up on his Spurs exit, but insisted he is ready to take another job in football straight away.

He told Sky Sports: ‘No need for breaks and (recharging) batteries. I’m always in football.’ 

When asked by Sky Sports whether it was unfair he had been sacked just before a cup final, he stopped for a moment and grinned but made no further comment. 

The bombshell announcement was made by Tottenham less than a week before they take on Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final. 

Mourinho also departs as the fallout continues following confirmation that the north London club will join a number of top-flight peers in the European Super League.

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Mourinho will walk away with up to £20million as part of a hefty compensation package.

The amount will not surpass that figure, sources have said, due to the performance-related clauses written into his contract.  

Mourinho will be placed on gardening leave, which means Tottenham will continue to pay him as normal until he takes up another job elsewhere.  

Tottenham are seventh in the Premier League which, combined with failures in Europe, effectively means Mourinho is not entitled to his full compensation.

A statement confirming the sacking read: ‘The Club can today announce that Jose Mourinho and his coaching staff Joao Sacramento, Nuno Santos, Carlos Lalin and Giovanni Cerra have been relieved of their duties.’

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‘Jose and his coaching staff have been with us through some of our most challenging times as a Club,’ chairman Levy said. 

‘Jose is a true professional who showed enormous resilience during the pandemic. On a personal level I have enjoyed working with him and regret that things have not worked out as we both had envisaged. 

‘He will always be welcome here and we should like to thank him and his coaching staff for their contribution.’

Ryan Mason, the former Tottenham and Hull City midfielder, will take the reins, assisted by Chris Powell, until the end of the season.

Mason, 29, took charge of first-team training on Monday. 

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The search for Mourinho’s permanent successor is now underway. 

RB Leipzig boss Julian Nagelsmann has been identified as the favourite to take over.

Tottenham have been long-term admirers of Nagelsmann, who is widely deemed as one of the most talented young coaches in world football.

It is believed that Naglesmann, who is only 33, was under consideration for the Spurs hotseat after Pochettino’s departure in 2019, although Mourinho was later handed the job. 

Leipzig will not allow Nagelsmann to leave this summer, however, without receiving a compensation package worth £17m. 

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Former Manchester United and Real Madrid coach Mourinho’s last game in charge at Tottenham came in the 2-2 draw against Everton on Friday. 

Despite Harry Kane’s leveller at Goodison Park, the dropped points dealt a major blow to their hopes of securing a spot in the Champions League. 

Sources have claimed that the underwhelming display proved to be the final straw. 

Talisman and vice-captain Harry Kane paid tribute to Mourinho after the news broke.

‘Thank you for everything boss,’ Kane wrote on social media. ‘A pleasure to have worked together. I wish you all the best for your next chapter.’ 

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The cup final next weekend represents a chance for Spurs to lift silverware for the first time since their triumph in the same competition in 2008. 

Mourinho will no longer lead them out at Wembley, though, with little tangible progress made over the last season and a half. 

He could only guide Tottenham to a sixth-placed finish during his first campaign in charge, albeit after taking over halfway through with the team languishing in 14th. 

This term has been a step back, with the north London outfit knocked out of Europe in humiliating fashion by Dinamo Zagreb and reeling from other poor results. 

For the first time in his managerial career, Mourinho was made to suffer 10 league defeats in a single season.

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The on-field misery also saw Tottenham drop 20 points from winning positions this season. No other top-flight club has lost more when leading. 

His options to take up another top job are likely to be dwindling after his latest sacking, having now been shown the exit door four times in England.

With Chelsea (twice), Manchester United and now Tottenham all choosing to axe him, Mourinho is sure to be running out of choices.

He has enjoyed great success in Italy, Spain and Portugal, so could be forced to take a job in one of those countries and move away from England. 

-Daily Mail

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Kunle Solaja is the author of landmark books on sports and journalism as well as being a multiple award-winning journalist and editor of long standing. He is easily Nigeria’s foremost soccer diarist and Africa's most capped FIFA World Cup journalist, having attended all FIFA World Cup finals from Italia ’90 to Qatar 2022. He was honoured at the Qatar 2022 World Cup by FIFA and AIPS.

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Former Arsenal soccer player Partey charged with five counts of rape

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 Premier League - Arsenal v Manchester City - Emirates Stadium, London, Britain - February 2, 2025 Arsenal's Thomas Partey during the warm-up before the match REUTERS/David Klein/File Photo

Thomas Partey, who formerly played for English Premier League soccer club Arsenal, has been charged with rape and sexual assault, London’s Metropolitan Police said on Friday.

Partey, a Ghana international, was charged with five counts of rape and one count of sexual assault, with the charges relating to three women and the offences reported to have taken place between 2021 and 2022, the statement said.

Partey’s management did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

He is due to appear at London’s Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Aug. 5.

Partey, 32, was signed by Arsenal from Atletico Madrid for 50 million euros ($59 million) in October 2020 and became a key member of Arsenal’s first team.

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He was first arrested in July 2022, though he was not named at the time and continued to play for Arsenal while investigations were ongoing.

-Reuters

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Rashford, Garnacho among five players seeking Man Utd exit

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Premier League - Manchester United v Newcastle United - Old Trafford, Manchester, Britain - December 30, 2024 Manchester United's Marcus Rashford warms up as a substitute during the match REUTERS/Phil Noble/File Photo

Five players including England forward Marcus Rashford and Argentina winger Alejandro Garnacho have informed Manchester United that they wish to explore a future away from the Premier League side, a club source said on Friday.

Brazilian midfielder Antony, Dutch defender Tyrell Malacia and England international Jadon Sancho are also looking to leave the club, the source added.

Rashford, who has made more than 400 senior appearances for United, has fallen out of favour with manager Ruben Amorim, played for Aston Villa on loan while United had their worst-ever Premier League campaign, finishing 15th in the standings.

Amorim had called Rashford’s work rate into question, saying he would rather put a goalkeeper coach on the bench than a player not giving their all.

Rashford said he was feeling fitter and better since joining Villa, where he scored two goals in 10 league appearances.

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United also failed to qualify for the Champions League as they lost the Europa League final 1-0 to Tottenham Hotspur. Garnacho, who was a late substitute in the final, voiced his displeasure on social media after the loss.

“Up until the final, I played every round helping the team, and today I play 20 minutes, I don’t know,” he wrote in a post . “The final will influence (my decision), but the whole season, the situation of the club.”

Sancho was on loan at Chelsea, where he made 31 league appearances last season. Antony, who joined United from Ajax Amsterdam in 2022 for a reported initial transfer fee of more than $100 million, scored five goals in 17 LaLiga appearances on loan at Real Betis.

Malacia joined Dutch side PSV Eindhoven on loan in February.

-Reuters

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Fernandes rejects Al-Hilal offer to stay at Manchester United

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Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes turned down the opportunity to join Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal in order to keep playing “at the highest level”, he said on Tuesday.

The Portuguese midfielder admitted that he had considered the move, which media reports said was worth four times his current salary, after being contacted by Al-Hilal’s president.

“There was that possibility, the president of Al-Hilal called me a month ago to ask me about it,” Fernandes, who is preparing to face Germany with Portugal, told reporters on Tuesday.

“It was a big offer, very ambitious. There was a waiting period for me to think about the future.”

Fernandes ultimately decided to stay at United and said he was motivated by his desire to continue playing at the top level and encouraged by his family and the club’s coach Ruben Amorim.

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“I would be willing to do it if Manchester United thought so,” Fernandes added. “I spoke to the coach Ruben Amorim who really tried to talk me out of it. The club said they would not be willing to sell me, only if I wanted to leave.

“I spoke to my wife and family, and she asked me what my personal goals were in my career.

“It would have been easy to move there but I want to keep myself at the highest level, playing in the big competitions and I feel capable of it. I am happy with my decision.”

The 30-year-old Fernandes scored 19 goals and provided 19 assists in 57 appearances across all competitions for United last season, winning the club’s Player of the Year award for the fourth time.

However, it was a season to forget for the team, as they finished 15th in the Premier League, their lowest league finish in half a century, and lost the Europa League final to Tottenham Hotspur.

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-Reuters

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