Russia Putting Up Fight Against Man City For Mancini

Manchester City FC Manager Roberto Mancini has been offered £35M ($54.2M) to manage Russia's national team as contract talks with Man City "drag into another week," according to Joe Bernstein of the London DAILY MAIL. Sources in Russia claimed that Mancini had "agreed to take over the national team in a six-year deal that would see him in charge" when they host the 2018 World Cup. But Man City "quickly rebuffed the story" and insisted the Italian would join club players at their preseason training camp in Austria and that negotiations over a new contract would be "concluded positively" this week. Russian sports website sports.ru claimed that Mancini would "walk out next week" after being offered £6M ($9.3M) a year by the Russian Football Federation. Regardless of the outcome, the Russian interest "strengthens Mancini's hand." Man City has offered him a three-year deal worth £5M ($7.7M) a year, but he wants a "longer term as well as guarantees over the control of transfer policy" (DAILY MAIL, 7/7).