Jose Mourinho sent off against Porto: 'He called me a traitor 50 times'

Benfica coach Jose Mourinho accused FC Porto assistant manager Luis 'Lucho' Gonzalez of calling him "a traitor" 50 times during Sunday's 2-2 draw.

Mourinho was sent off against his former club in the 91st minute after he was deemed to have kicked a ball towards the away bench.

Former Porto player Gonzalez was also handed his marching order soon after following an exchange with Mourinho.

Speaking after the game, Mourinho, 63, said of Gonzalez: "He called me a traitor 50 times. I'd like him to explain to me a traitor to what? I went to FC Porto, I gave my soul to FC Porto, I went to Chelsea, I went to Inter, to Real Madrid, I went around the world and gave 24 hours of my life every day. That's called professionalism.

"When he went to Marseille [from FC Porto in 2009], did he betray FC Porto? He could have insulted me in another way, maybe he would have thought it better, but I think it's an attack on my professionalism.

"I don't like it. Insults from fans are one thing, it's football. These are the same fans who were at my feet when I was walking around the city. Now, from a fellow professional... He's a professional like me, he's defended several jerseys throughout his career, I don't understand.

"Traitor why? For giving everything to Benfica?"

Gonzalez, 45, joined FC Porto in 2005, one year after Mourinho had moved to Chelsea having guided the Dragoes to Champions League glory.

Mourinho had previously steered Porto to two league titles and a UEFA Cup.

A former Argentinian midfielder, Gonzalez played six seasons at FC Porto during two spells at the club before becoming coach Francesco Farioli's assistant in July 2025. Sunday's result left Benfica third in the Primeira Liga standings, seven points adrift of leaders FC Porto.

- Mourinho says 'it's over' for Prestianni at Benfica if guilty

"There's still 27 points up for grabs," Mourinho said. "I consider recovering seven points to be difficult.

"I've been saying this since the beginning of the season. It's very easy to identify how FC Porto plays, very difficult to play against them. And I don't think it will be easy for FC Porto to lose more points. But as long as it's just mathematics, anything can happen."

Mourinho got his first experience as first-team manager in 2000 at Benfica and returned to the club in September shortly after being sacked by Fenerbahce.

Click here to read article