Mourinho Jokes Unbeaten Benfica Season Counts as Ninth League Title

José MourinhoCoach·José Mourinho, the newly appointed Real MadridTeam·Real Madrid manager, has playfully asserted that his unbeaten 2025-26 season with BenficaTeam·Benfica in the Primeira Liga should be considered his ninth league title. Speaking on the Beast Mode On Podcast, Mourinho acknowledged the absence of silverware but expressed pride in the rare accomplishment.

BenficaTeam·Benfica completed the 2025-26 Primeira Liga season without a single defeat, a remarkable feat in modern football. Under Mourinho's guidance, the Lisbon giants secured 23 wins and 11 draws from their 34 matches, accumulating a total of 80 points. However, this impressive undefeated run was not enough to clinch the championship. BenficaTeam·Benfica finished the campaign in third place, eight points adrift of champions Porto, who amassed 88 points, and two points behind second-placed Sporting CPTeam·Sporting CP, who ended with 82 points. The high number of draws ultimately proved costly in the title race, relegating BenficaTeam·Benfica to a UEFA Europa LeagueCompetition·Europa League spot for the upcoming 2026-27 season.

Mourinho, who returned to Estádio da LuzVenue·Estádio da Luz in September 2025, reflected on the season's outcome and his personal satisfaction.

"If you want a funny answer, and at the same time an arrogant answer... I won eight championships, but never unbeaten. So now this one counts as nine. It's not a title but it's a good feeling."

He further elaborated on the challenges faced during the campaign, stating, "We were never top of the league. We had a pretty good season. Porto, they lost a couple of matches, but they won, won, won, won, won, and we were winning, winning, winning, and the moment you have a draw, the distance goes a little bit. We couldn't get them but the feeling of unbeatable, of course, ArsenalTeam·Arsenal (the Invincibiles team from 2003-04) are the ones in that sense, it was a good feeling." BenficaTeam·Benfica's final league game saw them secure a 3-1 victory over Estoril, sealing their unbeaten record.

This achievement marks only the second time in BenficaTeam·Benfica's history that they have completed an entire league season unbeaten but failed to win the title, with the first instance occurring in 1977-78 when they lost to Porto on goal difference. Mourinho's career is decorated with major honours across Portugal, England, Italy, and Spain, including two Primeira Liga titles with Porto, three Premier LeagueCompetition·Premier League titles with ChelseaTeam·Chelsea, two Serie ACompetition·Serie A crowns with InterTeam·Inter, and a La LigaCompetition·La Liga triumph with Real MadridTeam·Real Madrid in 2011-12. His initial Champions LeagueCompetition·Champions League victory with Porto in 2004 remains a significant highlight.

"The memory was like we did something incredible. The fact is since then - 2004, 2026 - a Portuguese club never won again. A Portuguese club never played a final again. A Portuguese club never played a semi-final again. So that gives you the dimension of what we did. It was like touching the sky."

Mourinho's tenure at BenficaTeam·Benfica concluded with his recent departure to take up the head coach role at Real MadridTeam·Real Madrid, commencing in July 2026, adding another chapter to his distinguished coaching career.