Mourinho was sacked just six games into the season after Fenerbahce got knocked out in the Champions League playoffs by Benfica.

The Turkish side failed to score across the two matches, losing 1-0 on aggregate and therefore facing another season in the Europa League instead.

Mourinho took charge of just 31 Turkish Super Lig matches, winning 23 and losing just two games, and led Fenerbahce to the round of 16 of the Europa League last season.

Although Koc claimed he was not bothered by the Benfica loss itself, he stated the way they were eliminated was “unacceptable”.

"Why did we fire Mourinho? I'll say it for the first time, it was a painful dismissal,” Koc said. “Parting ways with someone who is above all a friend was tough. Being eliminated by Benfica wasn't a problem, but the way we were eliminated was unacceptable.

“This made me feel like last year's football would continue. We parted ways because we believed this squad would be playing better football at this point.

“We knew our coach would put emphasis on defence when we brought him in, but we talked about the need to play more dominantly at the end of the season.

“Scoring 99 goals and getting 99 points [as Fenerbahce had done in the Super Lig in the 2023-2024 season] is our genetic code.”

Fenerbahce is yet to announce a replacement for Mourinho, but Koc revealed it is likely to be another foreign coach due to the nature of the squad.

“Luciano Spalletti was our first choice, but he decided not to work this season,” Koc said. “Due to the large number of foreign players in our team, we feel that the coach ought to be someone foreign with European experience. We're in contact with several and will announce our new coach very soon.”