Mourinho's Benfica future in doubt as tensions with Rui Costa escalate
Curiously, one might also note that the final was played almost at the same time as Sporting-Benfica and ended with a... 2-1 victory for the provincial side, eerily mirroring the script written by Rafa's last-gasp goal at Alvalade. In other words, if real football worked like PlayStation, Rui Costa would now be torn between celebrating at the Marquês de Pombal or Lisbon City Hall—not between renewing or sacking José Mourinho.
It's true that Benfica's president isn't strictly obliged (one should add...) to do either, but the middle-ground solution he's left with clashes with the manager's public expectations and, in the medium term, leaves him in an impossibly tricky position.
Having missed the right moment to extend Mourinho's contract on the back of an electoral mandate, renewing now would be like handing over the keys to the Estádio da Luz to someone who should only have absolute control over the dressing room.
Never mind the immediate accusations that Rui Costa would be bowing to a purely results-driven logic (a purely results-driven logic, one might add...) and allowing heavy external influence over decisions that, by their very nature, should be made from within. The worst of it would be the inversion of the club's hierarchy.
Putting forward a long-term proposal for Mourinho in the coming days would mean the club's top figure was yielding to an undeniable truth (the untouchable competence of the Special One...) after a single positive result in a derby.
As significant as Sunday's victory was, giving in to Mourinho's demands post-Alvalade would expose the fragility and insecurity of a board that, before the match, hadn't dared to guarantee the long-term future of a man who (ironically, one might add...) had long been destined to replace Bruno Lage.
From Mourinho's perspective, signing a deal now—one he would have preferred to secure weeks ago—would drain any meaning from a vote of confidence had it been given at the right time. Agreeing to a multi-season project on the back of a win he himself downplayed wouldn't even serve to burnish a résumé so extraordinary it needs no litmus test.
Even if the Segunda Circular championship involves serious money, for Mou, it would be (equally, one might add...) hardly edifying to strike a deal simply because he beat Sporting. If he weighs these factors and concludes he has more to lose than gain by committing until the 2030 World Cup, he'll end up aligning with the only path left for Rui Costa: waiting until 2027 after waiting so long already.
But in a year's time, when the contract signed in September expires, the balance sheet will be damning for the president, leaving him in an unenviable position. If Benfica reclaims dominance in Portugal, Mourinho will become too expensive to keep. And if the team finishes trophyless, there will be no shortage of voices asking why he wasn't sacked for a mere three million euros.
Rui Costa and Mourinho are doomed to part ways... unless the current back-to-back champion and the would-be 2025-26 title winner (literally) relinquish their posts. In a PlayStation league, one might add, renewing that dream would be far easier.
