Newcastle United manager Rafa Benitez has been linked with a move from the English Premier League to the Chinese Super League.
In reports that first emerged in The Times, Benitez has reportedly been offered US$15.2 million per year to take the reins at Dalian Yifang.
If he accepted, then the 59-year-old would become the highest paid manager in the Chinese top flight, earning more than Fabio Cannavaro’s reported US$14 million per year.
The Wanda Group owned club have invested heavily in recent seasons with their biggest recruit of the last transfer window Marek Hamsik from Napoli.
Despite that, they sit 11th on the 16-team table and have lost six of their 13 games this season.
Current manager Choi Kang-hee took over from Bernd Schuster before the start of the season but has failed to get his team, which also includes highly rated Belgium international Yannick Carrasco, to perform. Carrasco has been linked with a return to Europe.
Sky Sports reported that the Spaniard is “considering” the offer from Dalian, which is reported to be worth somewhere between double and triple his present annual salary on Tyneside, where is he among the best paid managers in England.
However, with his current deal with the Premier League side ending on June 30, many are seeing this as a negotiating tactic with the club’s much-maligned owner Mike Ashley. Benitez turned down a contract offer last summer as he sought assurances over transfers from Ashley.
Now the millionaire businessman appears reluctant to sign a new deal with Benitez as he looks to offload the club to a new owner.
Dubai-based billionaire Sheikh Khaled bin Zayed Al Nehayan is in advanced talks with Ashley and it had been reported that the deal could be completed by the end of the month.