Mourinho offered mammoth Ksh8.7 billion per year to become Saudi Arabia coach

FOOTBALL Mourinho offered mammoth Ksh8.7 billion per year to become Saudi Arabia coach

Joel Omotto • 16:34 - 06.04.2023

The Middle Eastern country is in the hunt for a coach following the departure of Herve Renard

Jose Mourinho has reportedly been offered €60m (Ksh8.7 billion) per year to become the Saudi Arabia national team coach.

The Middle Eastern country is in the hunt for a coach following the departure of Herve Renard, who has since taken over the French women’s national team, and have identified the AS Roma manager as the ideal candidate to lead them until at least the 2026 World Cup.

According to Italian publication Corriere dello Sport, the ‘Special One’ has been handed a massive offer of €60m (Ksh8.7 billion) per year if he agrees to the deal which will see him leave the Serie A side one year before his contract expires.

The report claims that the contract will allow Mourinho to have two options, one being to leave the two-year deal a year early, while the other would allow him to extend it so that he would take charge at the 2026 World Cup.

Mourinho has previously expressed a desire to coach a national team at some point in his career although it is still not known whether he would be interested to take the plunge now or if the Saudi job is one that appeals to him.

“Yes, I want to coach a national team, I want to have the experience of a World Cup and European Championship, the emotion of the short competition,” the 60-year-old he told AS in 2020.

Mourinho is in the second of his three-year contract with Roma, having joined in the summer of 2021 following his sacking from Tottenham Hotspur earlier that year.

The former Real Madrid and Manchester United manager has not enjoyed a smooth ride at the Stadio Olimpico, however, despite winning the Europa Conference League last season.

Disagreements over the club’s transfer budget have been reported while the Serie A side are not entirely happy with his style and conduct, having been sent off three times already this season.