Sports
Saudi Offer Mourinho More Than £100m To Coach Teams, As Lampard Returns As Chelsea’s Caretaker Manager
Roma manager, Jose Mourinho, has reportedly been offered more than £100million to coach Saudi Arabia in a two-year deal which would make him the highest paid manager ever, Daily Mail reports.
The English news platform on Thursday also indicated that Cristiano Ronaldo’s club Al-Nassr are interested in Mourinho with current manager Rudi Garcia likely to leave at the end of the season.
The Portuguese, 60, joined Roma in 2021 and his current contract runs with the Serie A giants until 2024.
However, there have been disputes over transfers and frustrations at Roma’s performances this season.
Roma coach Mourinho gets two-match ban after red card
With his future still up in the air at the Italian club, Mourinho has now been directly approached by ‘top management’ to head the Saudi Arabia national team.
According to Corriere dello Sport, the deal includes £52 (€60m) each year and two options for Mourinho.
He would be able to tear up the contract at the end of the first season or extend it until 2026 – the year of the North American World Cup.
Frank Lampard Returns As Chelsea’s Caretaker Boss
Frank Lampard made a surprise return to Chelsea as caretaker manager until the end of the season on Thursday, just over two years after he was sacked by the Premier League club.
Lampard, Chelsea’s record goalscorer, previously managed the Blues from July 2019 until January 2021, when he was replaced by Thomas Tuchel.
The 44-year-old’s unexpected move back to Stamford Bridge came after Tuchel’s successor Graham Potter was dismissed on Sunday with the club in the bottom half of the Premier League.
“We are delighted to welcome Frank back to Stamford Bridge,” Chelsea co-controlling owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali said in a statement.
“Frank is a Premier League Hall of Famer and a legend at this season.
“As we continue our thorough and exhaustive process for a permanent head coach, we want to provide the club and our fans with a clear and stable plan for the remainder of the season.”
The statement said Lampard “has all of the characteristics and qualities we need to drive us to the finish line”.
The former England midfielder had been out of a job since January when he was sacked by relegation-threatened Everton after less than a year in charge.
Chelsea have nine league games remaining this season, starting with Saturday’s trip to Wolves, which is followed by the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final against holders Real Madrid.
Lampard watched from the stands on Tuesday as a Blues side managed by caretaker boss Bruno Saltor started the post-Potter era with a goalless draw against Liverpool.
The west London club are 11th in the Premier League table, 14 points adrift of the top four, despite having spent more than £500 million ($623 million) on new players this season.
Ex-Barcelona and Spain coach Luis Enrique reportedly flew into London on Wednesday to meet with Chelsea officials for talks about the full-time .
In-demand German Julian Nagelsmann, sacked recently by Bayern Munich, is also thought to be a contender.
Lampard guided Chelsea to the 2020 FA Cup final, which ended in a 2-1 loss to Arsenal, during his previous managerial spell at the club, having joined the Blues after one season in charge of second-tier Derby.