The Moscow Times said a tabloid called LifeNews broke the story.
When Capello agreed to leave last week, reports indicated he was paid about US$ 16.4 million by the Russian Football Union (RFU). He had coached the team for three years, the Times said.
The newspaper said LifeNews quoted an anonymous senior official as saying Capello’s buyout was actually US$ 35 million. The tabloid said the deal may have included a US$ 10.9 million payoff from a commercial deal.
Capello has agreed not to comment on the situation or to say anything about internal problems at the RFU to the media, the report said.
It’s not clear who came up with the money to pay Capello. The RFU owes about US$ 26 million, Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko told the TASS news agency last week.
In May this year OCCRP and Novaya Gazeta revealed controversial details about the football coach’s lucrative extension contract with the RFU, which was signed in January 2014.
According to copies of the contract obtained by OCCRP and Novaya Gazeta, Capello received an annual salary of US$ 8 million, as well as performance incentives worth several millions more.
