Newcastle manager Rafael Benitez has been offered a double-your-money deal to take charge of Dalian Yifang next season, according to the Times.
The national newspaper claim that the Spaniard has been offered a huge £12million a year by the Chinese Super League club, owned by billionaire and fourth richest man in China Wang Jianlin, in a deal would see him break the record as the highest paid manager in the country.
The Times reports that the former Liverpool boss currently earns £6million each season in the North East and that a potential move would double his annual salary.
Despite the Magpies’ desire to keep a hold of Benitez, Mike Ashley has yet to finalise a new deal for the Champions League winner, whose contract runs out at the end of June.
A one-year deal is on the table for Benitez at St James’ Park, but with his ambitions reportedly not yet matched by the club, nothing has been signed.
OPINION
This will come as no surprise to the Newcastle fans, who will have surely come to expect this from their club by now. With Benitez’ future still not sorted, the chances for other clubs to offer him a deal are rising as each day passes, and with less than two weeks till his deal runs out, more offers could be yet to come. Dalian Yifang are owned by the fourth richest man in China and are obviously prepared to back the Spaniard in the market, and not to mention the lucrative £12million that has already been reportedly offered as a salary. Newcastle fans can be quietly confident about this one as Benitez would surely much prefer to stick at St James’ Park. The only way he leaves the club in the next couple of weeks is if the money becomes too good to refuse from China, or if Mike Ashley continues to frustrate in negotiations. With offers starting to come in, Ashley must ask quick to offer his manager a new deal, even if it is the last thing he does at the club.
