Beijing: Marcello Lippi will earn almost $5 million a year as China coach but will pocket far more through a tie-in with a football academy, state media said on Sunday. The 68-year-old Italian was named boss of the national team by the Chinese Football Association on Saturday and has the tricky goal of steering the Asian giants to qualify for the 2018 World Cup.
Lippi’s annual salary “should be in the region of 4.5 million euros ($4.9 million)” said state broadcaster CCTV on an official social media account. But the offer made to the Italian also includes income from Guangzhou Evergrande’s football academy which will pay “Lippi and his team” 15.5 million euros annually to act as official “advisors” for the establishment, CCTV said.
