Huge Saudi offer for Jose Mourinho
According to reports in Italy the Roma manager would be paid an astonishing €120 million if he agreed to leave the eternal city.
Roma manager Jose Mourinho has reportedly received a huge offer from Saudi Arabia to jointly take charge of the national side and a Saudi Pro League team for the next two years.
Mourinho is already an idol in Rome after winning the the club’s first continental honour since 1961, the Europa Conference League, in his first season at the club. Roma have a good chance of achieving Champions League qualification this year but reports emerging on Thursday morning will be cause for concern amongst the club’s supporters.
Italian outlet Corriere dello Sport reports that the former Real Madrid and Chelsea boss has received a huge offer to coach in Saudi Arabia, dividing his responsibilities between the Saudi national side and a local club side. Mourinho has been offered the equivalent of €120 million to take up the hybrid role for two years.
The report suggests that, alongside his international duties, Mourinho would coach eith Al-Ahli or Al-Nassr, the current club of Cristiano Ronaldo. Mourinho could be reunited with his campatriot with whom he enjoyed a hugely successful relationship at Real Madrid. In the 2011/12 season Ronaldo scored an astonishing 60 goals for Mourinho’s Real Madrid as they became the first La Liga side to finish the season with 100 points.
Mourinho is adored in Rome
Clearly eager to tempt Mourinho to the country, Saudi authorities have offered him a two-part proposal that will include a release clause after the first year if he wishes to leave. It would make Mourinho the highest-paid coach in soccer history and the two-year deal also gives him the option to extend for an additional year so he can stay in the role until the 2026 World Cup.
The Italian report claims that Mourinho is actively discussing the possibility with his coaching team, but his current priority is continuing in Rome. He has a contract in the eternal city until 2024 and a salary in excess of €7 million.
A lot will depend on the end of this season with the Giallorossi still competing in the Europa League and just a point off third place in the league. The Roma faithful have filled the club’s vast Stadio Olímpico practically every week since the arrival of the ‘Special One’ and will be desperate for him to continue at the club.