The highest tower, the richest horse race, the largest shopping mall and now, possibly the biggest coach’s salary, in a bid to have the best football team in the world.The recently resigned coach of the Chelsea Football Team, Jose Mourinho, is being courted by Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, with the hope that Mourinho might coach the UAE football team heading into the next World Cup campaign.
The salary being offered to Mourinho is an amazing £10 million a year which is significantly higher than the £5.5 million pay packet given by Chelsea.
The UAE football team does not yet have an impressive World Cup record and it may take years before the Sheikh realizes his dream of bringing the prized World Cup silverware to the Emirates. It may not guarantee Mourinho quick success but the job would give him the challenge of his life. In a recent interview Mourinho said that he would like to move to another country and learn a new language. Maybe then, Arabic is the new lingo for Jose.
It will be interesting to see how the Portuguese star responds to this and other bids and whether it will be money, success potential, language, quality of life or a rare combination of these that will be the confirming factors.
Geoff Pound
Image: Jose Mourinho
