Roberto Mancini has been offered a £170m transfer fund to take a gamble and move to Monaco next season.
Russian billionaire owner Dmitry Rybolovlev tried to lure the Manchester City boss to the Cote d’Azur last year.
Now, the man ranked the 97th richest in the world by Forbes has returned with a stunning new offer of that vast kitty for signings, plus a three-year deal worth £22m in wages.
Rybololev is determined to take the Monte Carlo club back into the Champions League and challenge the Qatari-backed Paris Saint-Germain’s position as the kings of French football.
Mancini's fellow Italian Carlo Ancelotti is the boss at the PSG.
After winning the title last year, Mancini agreed a new deal until 2017, but his side are out of Europe, way behind leaders Manchester United in the league and have only the FA Cup to play for this season.
Mancini was furious at losing out to United over Arsenal's Robin van Persie in last summer’s transfer window, and it the Dutch striker’s goals that look set to see neighbours United regain the Premier League title.
While Mancini insists he retains the support of City owner Sheihk Mansour, their failure to progress from the group stage of the Champions League for the second year running was a major disappointment for the club.
Mancini has fought a very public battle to talk up his achievement of turning the Eastlands outfit into a team of winners after their 42-year wait for a trophy.
However, the growing influence of technical director Txiki Begiristain and chief executive Ferran Soriano, both recruited from Barcelona, has cast doubt over his future although the Italian boss maintains there are no problems with their relationship.
Moving closer to his homeland - and to the Mediterranean coast - would be an option if he feels he is not getting the backing of the club in the transfer market again this summer.
Monaco are poised to gain promotion from Ligue 2 under the guidance of Claudio Ranieri, who only took over last summer.
Former France coach Laurent Blanc, who has not worked since Euro 2012, is also a candidate for the job.
