Fernando Santos, who has held his position since 2014, announced his departure from the position of coach of Portugal, Thursday, five days after Selecao was eliminated in the quarter-finals of the 2022 World Cup against Morocco (1). -0).
“I leave with a feeling of great gratitude. (…) When you lead a group, you have to make some difficult decisions. It’s normal that not everyone is happy with the choices you’ve made,” Fernando Santos replied in a video posted on the federation’s website.
The 68-year-old Portuguese coach said last Saturday, after the last World Cup match, that he did not plan to resign, but the local press has since confirmed that the leaders of the Brazilian Football Confederation want to shorten his tenure, which is supposed to continue. Until Euro-2024.
According to the sports daily Record, Jose Mourinho will be the priority track for Al-Ittihad, who will even be willing to replace Santos temporarily in order to allow the Roma coach to finish his season with the Italian club.
Asked by reporters shortly before Santos’ departure was formalized, upon his arrival in southern Portugal to train with Roma, Mourinho did not comment.
