Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds United contract includes a £23million release clause, according to Medio Tempo.
The Mexican outlet claim the two-year deal signed by the Argentine when he took over at Elland Road in the summer has the substantial buy-out figure.
Medio Tempo report the Mexico national team have been keen to appoint Bielsa as their new manager but will not pursue him to the cost of his Leeds release clause.
OPINION
Some Leeds fans will be concerned that Bielsa insisted upon a release clause in his contract when he was appointed in the summer. Others will claim it is so extravagantly high that it will make no material difference. And, if there was a club or national team willing to pay it, then Leeds would be quids in. Bielsa was appointed in the summer on a £40,000-a-week deal that instantly made him the Championship’s best-paid manager. Release clauses are common in the contracts of elite players, although less so for managers. For instance, Bielsa disciple Mauricio Pochettino signed a new five-year Tottenham contract in May that does not include a release clause. Should Bielsa want to leave and Leeds not be keen to let him go, the payment of £23million – if the report is correct – would mean there would not be any requirement for extensive negotiations. That said, the clause is so high, it surely will not ever be triggered.