Chelsea are reportedly attempting to woo Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone to London with a salary offer of around £7.7m a year.
The 45-year-old, who guided the capital outfit to their first La Liga title in 18 years in 2013-14, recently insisted that he was happy in Spain amid reports linking him to the permanent post at Chelsea.
Now Blues owner Roman Abramovich has stepped up his pursuit of Simeone as he looks to find someone to replace Guus Hiddink over the summer, according to Spanish outlet Don Balon.
A salary of £7.7m would make Simeone the fourth highest-paid manager in the world, behind Pep Guardiola (£11.2m), Jurgen Klopp (£10.6m) and Arsene Wenger (£8.3m), marginally ahead of Louis van Gaal's estimated £7.3m earnings.
The magazine added that should Simeone depart the Vicente Calderon this summer, Atletico will look to Sevilla coach Unai Emery as his replacement.
Neil Wilkes
