Former Melbourne Victory mentor Kevin Muscat will continue his coaching career in China following his departure from Japanese club Yokohama F. Marinos.
Despite having been linked to the job at English Championship club Sunderland, Muscat has been announced as the new coach of Shanghai Port, who won this year’s Chinese Super League title.
Muscat replaces Spaniard Javier Pereira, who left the club after just nine months in charge despite having led Shanghai Port to championship glory.
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Shanghai Port’s captain is 32-year-old former Chelsea star, Brazilian midfielder Oscar, while a former player at the club was ex-Socceroo and the now retired Aaron Mooy.
Oscar joined the club in 2016 after winning two Premier League titles and a Europa League at Chelsea, signing for a reported Asian record fee of £67million – and pocketing a whopping £24m in his first year at the club.
Muscat’s final game in charge of Marinos was a 3-0 AFC Champions League win over Chinese club Shandong Taishan.
The victory secured Marinos top spot in Group G and a berth in the knockout stages.
Muscat led the Yokohama club to the 2022 J1 League title and second place this year while also winning the Japanese Super Cup.
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FTBL claims the deal could be worth as much as $6m for the Australian manager over two years.
Another former Socceroo, Harry Kewell, has been linked to the Marinos coaching job, which has also been previously held by current Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou.
Marinos made clear they did not want to lose the Australian manager.
“Manager Kevin Muscat has recently stepped down as the manager of Yokohama F. Marinos and will be aiming for a new challenge,” CEO Akihiro Nakayama said in a statement (translated).
“We would like to express our gratitude to Coach Muscat for his many accomplishments.
“It was a difficult decision for the club to make, but after repeated discussions, the club respected Coach Muscat’s wishes and reached a mutual agreement.
“As the Marinos family, we would like to support Coach Muscat in his new challenge.”
