Former Manchester United first-team coach Benni McCarthy has been reported as a hot favourite for the Harambee Stars job but he will have to endure a massive pay cut.
South African legend Benni McCarthy has been widely reported as the man that could potentially replace Engin Firat as Harambee Stars coach.
McCarthy was reported in late December to have agreed to take over the Kenya national team and even though it is nearly a month since, taking the Harambee Stars job would see him earn significantly less than what he was on at his last job.
The former South African striker worked at Premier League side Manchester United for two years as first-team coach responsible for tuning the club’s forwards.
During his stint between July 2022 and June 2024, McCarthy is reported to have been earning £40,000 (Ksh6.4 million) per week, translating into £160,000 (Ksh26 million) per month.
Bafana Bafana legend Benni McCarthy is reported to have agreed to take over as Harambee Stars coach but an ex-Kenyan international has made certain demands before his appointment.
It means he earned £1.9 million (Ksh305 million) per year at Old Trafford and £3.8 million (Ksh610 million) over the course of his contract.
However, taking over Harambee Stars will come with much less than that, with Flashscore reporting last December that he had agreed a two-year deal with a monthly salary of Ksh2.2 million, translating into Ksh26.4 million in a year.
If that turns out to be true, then the former FC Porto and Ajax Amsterdam striker will earn in a year what he was on in a month if he takes over the Kenyan national team job, proving perhaps that his decision is not financially driven but rather motivated by a need to challenge himself.
However, it will not be the first time McCarthy is on such figures as his jobs at Cape Town City and AmaZulu in South Africa paid in the same region or less before the massive jump in career and earnings in the Premier League.
United are among sides that shell out huge sums in wages to players and coaches and McCarthy, who was part of Erik ten Hag’s backroom team, was one of the beneficiaries of working at a high-paying club.
