Jose Peseiro Super Eagles Contract in Numbers

Jose Peseiro Super Eagles Contract in Numbers

By Gbenga Gboyega

The Head Coach of the Super Eagles - Jose Peseiro, is closing down on his time with the Nigeria national team, as his one-year $70,000 per month contract is expected to expire at the end of June, BSNSports.com.ng can report.

Peseiro was appointed on the 15th of May 2022, taking over from caretaker Austin Eguavoen who took the Super Eagles to the AFCON earlier that year following the dismissal of former coach Genort Rohr.

According to sources, it was reported that the 63-year-old Portuguese was appointed at the recommendation of compatriot Jose Mourinho, a development the immediate former NFF President - Amaju Pinnick, alluded to.

"Yes, it was a Jose Mourinho recommendation. I would not deny that we did not talk to Mourinho because we did, and the Minister (of Youth & Sports) also talked to Mourinho, and there is nothing wrong with it," Amaju stated per Dailypost. ng.

Jose Peseiro's eleven months in office accumulates to $770,000 in salary, with nine games under his belt as head coach, winning four of those and losing the rest. Although, reports making the rounds also have it on good authority that the coach is being owed for ten months, meaning a running debt of $700,000 by the Federation.

The NFF, Sports Ministry, and José Peseiro also reportedly signed a 'gentleman's agreement' based on the premise that the Federal Government of Nigeria would foot the bill of the Super Eagles' technical adviser.

However, the FG failed to fulfill their side of the agreement, owing to the politicking involved, misappropriation of payments out of the Central Bank (CBN), plus notions that the FG was never going to pay a foreigner such an amount for a job indigenous coaches could also do.

It is also worthy of note that a caveat exists in Peseiro's contract stating that he is entitled to a two-year extension if he takes Nigeria to the AFCON in 2024 and wins it. Technically, this leaves the Portuguese at the helm of affairs till the end of the Africa Cup of Nations billed for Cote d’Ivoire next year.

Peseiro's contract dilemma is not fueled by the love of money, as sources close to the coach report that he was well to do before the Super Eagles appointment, plus the fact that he even pays his assistants close to $10,000 monthly from his pocket.

Indigenous coaches like Finidi George and Emmanuel Amunike who aren't strangers to the system have been purported to replace the Super Eagles gaffer, should he decide not to renew his contract, nor accept a pay cut offered by the Federation.