Former Ghana coach Avram Grant turns down Bulgarian giants Levski Sofia over salary offer

Former Chelsea and Ghana coach Avram Grant has opted out of joining Levski Sofia because of the terms of the financial offer by the Bulgarian giants.

The Israeli manager  was almost certain of joining the club last week but their offer of a monthly salary of about $30,000 has led to the coach pulling out of the deal.

The veteran manager was on the brink of grabbing his twelfth coaching post in the dugout after being locked in talks with Levski owner Spas Rusev.

Grant was set to earn a salary that would make him the highest-paid gaffer in Bulgaria but the offer of $30,000 which would make him the highest earning coach was far below Grant's expectation.

This means his spell on the sidelines as a clubless will continue as the Bulgarian have now approached Italian Delio Rossi after Grant refused the salary offer.

Grant took a pay cut to take the Ghana job with reports of him earning about $50,000 after coaching high paying sides like Chelsea and West Ham.

But a further reduction in his salary has not gone down well with the former Chelsea boss which looks to have led to the decision to reject the move to Bulgaria.

Rossi, the former Fiorentina and Lazio tactician, has put pen to paper on a two-year contract with option for a third campaign.

The 57-year-old has been out of work since he was fired by Serie A outfit Bologna in October 2015.

This will be Rossi’s first experience working abroad, but he’ll bring regular Italian collaborators to join his staff.

Grant, who also coached English sides West Ham and Portsmouth, has been unattached since quitting as the coach of Ghana in February.

The former Chelsea boss quit the Black Stars after Ghana lost to eventual 2017 African Cup of Nations - Cameroon - in the semi-finals of the tournament in Gabon.

Grant led Ghana to reach the final of the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, helping the West African nation to recover from the trauma of the 2014 World Cup fiasco.

However they lost lost a penalty shoot-out to Ivory Coast in the tournament in Equatorial Guinea with most people satisfied with the output of the Black Stars.

Grant started coach in his native Israel in the 1970s, taking various managerial jobs with top clubs and winning several domestic titles and FA Cups.

He coached the Israeli national team between 2002 and 2006 before moving to England to join giants Chelsea as Director of Football in 2007.

Grant was made the coach of Chelsea immediately after Jose Mourinho left the post for the first time, leading the Blues to the Champions League final.

They lost to Manchester United in the final of Europe's flagship competition, lost to Tottenham in the final of the League Cup while placing second in the league.

He subsequently joined Portsmouth and West Ham leading both sides to relegation before his personal revival that saw him win the Serbian league title with Partizan Belgrade.

Read Full Story