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Former Brazil coach Menezes accepts offer from Chinese soccer club

Xinhua, December 3, 2015 Adjust font size:

Former Brazil national team coach Mano Menezes confirmed Wednesday he accepts the offer from Chinese Shandong Luneng soccer club.

With the arrival of Menezes, Cuca, current coach of Luneng, will probably terminate his contract with the Chinese club and return to work in Brazil in the coming days. The former Atletico-MG coach led Luneng to rank third place in Chinese league this season, and gain a spot in next season's Asian champions' league.

Menezes, who replaced Vanderlei Luxemburgo this September to become the coach of Cruzeiro, received the offer from Luneng in the end of November, and after discussing with his family he eventually decided to accept it.

According to Brazilian news hub UOL, Menezes will receive a monthly salary of two million reais (around 520,000 U.S. dollars).

Menezes' contract with Cruzeiro lasts until December 2017, and the payment of termination fine (around 7 million reais) will be the major barrier of the new contract with Luneng. The Chinese club is said to be unwilling to pay this amount, while Cruzeiro does not want to give up.

Cruzeiro had eight wins, six draws and just one defeat with Menezes in the last months, going back to eighth place in Brazilian league from the relegation zone.

Menezes coached Brazil national team after the 2010 South Africa World Cup. In the next two and a half years of his coaching period, Brazil went out in the quarter finals at the 2011 Copa America.

He was also the coach of Brazil's Olympic team at the London 2012 hoping to win the long awaited gold medal for Brazil, the only accolade Brazil has not won in football. They were defeated by Mexico in the final and Menezes was the target of criticism in Brazil. Following disappointing results, Menezes was sacked on November 2012. Endit