Outbound Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini was offered to coach the Russian national football team throughout their campaign for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, according to recent reports.
SkySports reported that the 2018 World Cup hosts are apparently eyeing the services of the 62-year-old Chilean mentor to lead their national squad in perhaps the most prestigious football tournament to be accommodated by the country.
The news came just days after former boss Leonid Slutski resigned from his post following the Golden Eagles' crushing 0-3 defeat to Wales in the third round of the Group B competitions in the ongoing 2016 UEFA European Championship on Monday.
The loss resulted to Russia finishing dead last in the group behind Wales, England, and Slovakia as the team could only produce a single point in three outings. The Bears had an impressive start to the Euros by holding tournament-favorite England to a 1-1 draw in their opener, but the next games were all losses.
Pellegrini's tie up with the English Premier League side is set to be terminated on June 30 with departing Bayern Munich head coach Pep Guardiola taking over at the Etihad by that time.
The report said that Russia is set to give the English top flight title-winning manager a "millionaire" two-year deal that will extend up to the country's hosting of the World Cup in 2018.
There are currently no indications of Pellegrini's intention to take the offer or not as rumors abound that he is planning to stay as a head coach in "one of the top-five European leagues", preferably the Premier League. However, the report also noted that he may be "very tempted" to accept the deal, which means a final decision may be expected a few days from now.
Caught Offside indicated that even if Guardiola's impending takeover was already revealed in February, the former Real Madrid manager was still professional enough to lead City to several team honors in the recently concluded season.
Some of his accomplishments with City this season are a Capital One Cup win over Liverpool, a fourth-place finish in the English top flight that resulted in a Champions League berth next season, and a semifinals appearance in this term's Champions League competitions, which is a first for the club.