Publicly, Roberto Mancini remains confident in his future as Manchester City’s manager. Privately, he is believed to be carrying a golden parachute which would drop him comfortably into the South of France.
AS Monaco has offered has made Mancini a lucrative offer to replace Claudio Ranieri as its manager this summer. The three-year contract would pay Mancini around £7.3 million ($11 million) per season — tax-free. Monaco is also willing to give him £170 million ($258) to spend in the transfer market, according to the Mirror.
“Russian billionaire owner Dmitry Rybolovlev tried to lure the Manchester City boss to the Cote d’Azur last year,” the report says. “Now, the man ranked the 97th richest in the world by Forbes has returned with a stunning new offer of that vast kitty for signings, plus a three-year deal worth £22 million in wages.
“Rybololev is determined to take the Monte Carlo club back into the Champions League and challenge the Qatari-backed Paris Saint-Germain’s position as the kings of French football.”
Mancini and Monaco reportedly struck a secret deal in April 2012. At the time, it looked like City had no hope of winning the Premier League title race, and Mancini would likely be fired. But the Italian tactician led City to a stunning turnaround, and City captured the league title with a last-gasp goal on the season’s final day. City rewarded Mancini with a long-term contract extension, which made him the Premier League’s highest-paid manager.
Current Ligue 2 (French second division) leader Monaco wants to make a splash in its return to the French top flight. It is reportedly preparing transfer bids for City’s Carlos Tevez and Samir Nasri, as well as one for United star Wayne Rooney. Even if those rumored moves came to fruition, Mancini would still have around £100 million ($152 million) at his disposal.
On Thursday, Mancini conceded this year’s title to United, as City trails its crosstown rival by 15 points with nine games to play. The 48-year-old City boss is adamant that he retains the backing of City owner Sheihk Mansour, but he might be hedging his bets by listening to Monaco — like he reportedly did last year. Mancini’s public proclamations suggest he will be at City for the long haul, but things can change very quickly in this game.
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