Guus puts Liverpool on alert as Russia boss looks for Premier League return
04 Feb 2010 - 12:19:03
Premier return: Hiddink
Guus Hiddink looks set to see out his lucrative contract as Russia boss before quitting in the summer for a return to England.
The Dutchman arrived in Moscow on Wednesday night ahead of talks with his new FA boss, Sergey Fursenko.
The former Chelsea boss was not joined by his agent and indicated he would still be in his £6.25million a year job come Sunday's Euro 2012 qualifying draw in Warsaw.
But neither he nor Fursenko, a one-time rival of Stamford Bridge owner Roman Abramovich, suggested that Hiddink's contract would be extended beyond it's expiry in mid-July.
Hiddink has expressed a desire to return to England and would be the favourite to land the Liverpool job in the event of Rafa Benitez leaving for Juventus.
And he suggested he was happy to wait for the right job to come up, saying: 'I have a contact until the summer. What happens next depends on my meeting with Mr Fursenko.'
THE 2009/10 SACK RACE: You're fired! Peterborough boss Mark Cooper takes casualty list to 27 for the seasonThere are concerns over Hiddink's huge salary within the Russian FA, particularly following the end of an agreement for Abramovich to fund the contract.
And in his first press conference as president of the organisation, Fursenko said bluntly: 'The situation is very simple: Guus has a contract, and he should see it out from the first to the last minute. It ends in the summer.'
The former Zenit St Petersburg president added that it would be a 'joint decision' if Hiddink decided to leave in the summer, saying that he did not fear a lack of professionalism in the next few months if the Dutchman was preparing to leave.
Meanwhile, the head of Abramovich's National Academy of Football, which previously funded the salary and expenses of Hiddink and his coaching team, estimated they had shelled out more than £30m on the regime over the last three and a half years.
'That is a plausible amount,' said Sergey Kapkov. 'This includes paying for Guus' accommodation at the (luxury Moscow) Hyatt Hotel, his cappuccino, trips to Europe and travel costs for families. This is what we call all inclusive.'
It remains to be seen how an already cash-strapped FA can afford to keep funding Hiddink while also bidding to host the 2018 or 2022 World Cup.
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