"The Special One" does it his way. José Mourinho pointedly refuses to visit the Santiago Bernabéu, watches match from team bus in stadium parking lot

A rebellious move from the Portuguese manager
Football news
Steven Perez Dailysports's expert
"The Special One" true to his style. José Mourinho defiantly refused to attend the Santiago Bernabéu and watched the match from the team bus in the pa Photo by Carlos Rodrigues/Getty Images
25 feb 2026 15:00
Champions League
Real Madrid Benfica
2
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The scandal surrounding José Mourinho’s walkout took an unexpected—and, frankly, classic—Special One twist.

Details: According to El Chiringuito, Benfica’s Portuguese manager José Mourinho didn’t just boycott the stands—he was right at the heart of the action, but not inside the stadium itself.

Reports say Mourinho watched the match from inside the Benfica team bus. What’s truly remarkable is that the bus was parked directly in the underground parking lot of the Santiago Bernabéu. In this way, the coach technically kept his word not to appear in the stands, yet found himself just a few dozen meters from the pitch.

This move was a continuation of Mourinho’s protest against UEFA sanctions. Previously, José had already snubbed the official press conference.

It’s worth noting that the match itself ended in a come-from-behind victory for Real Madrid, 2-1, and the aggregate score over the two legs was 3-1 in favor of the Madrid club.

Reminder: Real Madrid wants to invite a young Benfica fan, frightened by police, to a match.

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