BEIJING: Marcello Lippi will earn almost $5 million a year as China coach but will pocket far more through a tie-in with a football academy, state media said Sunday. The 68-year-old Italian was named boss of the national team by the Chinese Football Association (CFA) on Saturday. He has the tricky goal of steering the Asian giant to qualify for the 2018 World Cup – a near impossible feat given recent losses to Uzbekistan and war-torn Syria. Lippi’s annual salary “should be 4.5 million euros ($4.9 million)” said state broadcaster CCTV on an official social media account. But the offer made to the Italian also includes income from Guangzhou Evergrande’s football academy which will pay “Lippi and his team” 15.5 million euros annually to act as official “advisers” for the establishment, CCTV said. The club, which is riding high atop the Chinese Super League, did not confirm the figure when contacted. Lippi coached Evergrande to great heights, leading the side to three consecutive Super League titles between 2012 and 2014. China, the most populous nation on earth, languish a lowly 84th in the FIFA world rankings – sandwiched between Kenya and Guatemala. They have claimed just one point from four games in the latest World Cup qualification phase and are bottom in Group A, which includes Iran, Uzbekistan, South Korea, Syria and Qatar.