Lippi was already coming back to China to take over his former club Guangzhou Evergrande, which had reportedly signed the Italian for 20 million euros. But Evergrande and the CFA have reached a compromise that will allow Lippi to coach the national team instead, and for the same price.

The 20 million euros Lippi was expected to get from Guangzhou would make him the highest paid coach in the world. Sources say Lippi will still provide consultation to the CSL champions for a salary of 15.5 million euros, in a deal that goes until January 2019. That means Evergrande will be paying the majority of Lippi's salary, as the national team will make up the remaining 4.5 million euros. The 20 million total puts Lippi ahead of Manchester City's Pep Guardiola, who is on 19 million euros, Jose Mourinho at 16.5 million, Carlo Ancelotti with 10.5 million, and Zinedine Zidane  on 9.5 million.

Now Yan Qiang, if this is all true about Lippi, is this enormous cost really worth it for China?