José Mourinho launched a scathing attack on his Benfica players, accusing some of them of being “out of touch with reality” following the team’s 1-1 draw with Casa Beia in the Portuguese league.
The Special One believes that Benfica has already lost any chance of winning the Portuguese league title due to this draw, and he began by criticizing his players and holding them responsible for the failure.
“Today we squandered our last chance to fight for the Portuguese league title,” Mourinho told the Portuguese media. “What’s worse is that we no longer even have a chance to win the second-place match. Our fate is no longer in our own hands.”
He added, “At this very moment, there are some players I don’t want to see on the pitch again. I simply don’t want to play them anymore, but they are assets of the club and have value in the transfer market.”
He added, describing some players as detached from reality, “There are those who live to win, no matter how wealthy they are, and there are those who take things lightly. They aren’t bad people, but they desperately lack the strong character required for winning titles.”
While Benfica remains undefeated under Mourinho in the domestic league, they sit in third place with 66 points, seven points behind leaders Porto, while Sporting are in second place with 68 points and a game in hand.
Benfica were eliminated from the Champions League in the round of 16 by Real Madrid, and also exited the Portuguese Cup against Porto and the League Cup against Braga.
Mourinho’s contract with Benfica expires at the end of this season, with an option to extend for another year by mutual agreement. It is highly likely that the Portuguese club’s management will not exercise this option, and the Special One’s time at the Estádio da Luz will come to a swift end.
