Legendary Italian coach Marcelo Lippi could make a shock return as manager of Guangzhou Evergrande, though the Chinese Super League defending champion is yet to confirm the move.
It has been reported that Evergrande's contract with current manager Luiz Felipe Scolari will not be renewed when it expires at the end of the year. The Brazilian World Cup winning coach replaced former Italian star Fabio Cannavaro in June 2015.
Evergrande leads the CSL table with 50 points — a six-point advantage over Jiangsu Suning with seven rounds still to go.
Corriere dello Sport reported that Lippi will sign a three-year contract with Guangzhou worth 20 million euros (US$22.6 million) net per season — a salary that, if confirmed, would put Pep Guardiola's world-beating 17.7-million euro annual salary at Manchester City in the shade.
According to Italian media, 68-year-old Lippi had been close to accepting a role with the Italian national team but was vetoed by the football association due to his son's role as an agent.
Lippi coached Evergrande from 2012 to 2014. He led China's most successful club to three successive league titles, one League Cup crown and a AFC Champions League title.
The former Juventus coach admitted recently he almost returned to AC Milan last January to replace Sinisa Mihajlovic at the club's request, only for it to backpedal when the Rossoneri's results started to improve. Mihajlovic has since been replaced by ex-Fiorentina handler Vincenzo Montella.
Earlier this week, Lippi — who quit Guangzhou in November 2014 when he also announced his retirement — said he is considering a return to China.
"Yes, it's true — I am considering returning," he said. "I enjoyed my time in China... it was an exciting challenge."
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