AFTER ‘missing out’ on The Celtic job at the weekend, things have turned around quickly for André Villas-Boas who has this afternoon been confirmed as the new head coach at Marseille.
???? OFFICIEL : André Villas-Boas est le nouvel entraîneur de l’OM. Il a signé un contrat de deux ans, et prendra ses fonctions le 1er juillet.#TeamOM ????⚪️ pic.twitter.com/AfJdTtzo7v
— #TeamOM Officiel (@TeamOM_Officiel) May 28, 2019
AVB has been out of the game since leaving Chinese club Shanghai SIPG in November 2017. He takes over at the Stade Velodrome and has reportedly agreed terms with Marseille sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta on a two-year deal worth £6.35million per season before tax.
“We are delighted to hire a coach whose success is recognised at the highest level in Europe and in the world,” said Marseille owner Frank McCourt, as reported on the BBC website.
That for context is more that double the salary that Brendan Rodgers was picking up at Celtic. And this salary – huge when looking at it from Scottish football – represents a decrease in wages for the former Tottenham and Chelsea manager. The 41-year-old earning £7.5m per year at Zenit Saint Petersburg, before leaving in 2016, and more than £10.5m while in China with Shanghai.
That Zenit salary is three time the money Celtic paid Rodgers and the cash that André Villas-Boas earned in China was four times what Rodgers was getting in Paradise.
Given that Celtic splashed the cash big time to get the former Liverpool manager to come to Glasgow it was never probable or even possible that Peter Lawwell would double treble or even quadruple the salary paid to Rodgers to bring in a manger like André Villas-Boas.
Rodgers of course walked out on Celtic and is reportedly on similar money to what Marseille are paying André Villas-Boas and he too could have gone to China – apparently – last summer for even more money, again similar to what Shanghai were paying AVB.
These figures are way beyond what Celtic can pay, that’s a reality cheque that Peter Lawwell could never sign.
Hopefully no-one lost money betting on André Villas-Boas or the likes being appointed as The Celtic manager because it was never going to happen.
