Phil Scolari could price himself out of a deal with England.
The Sun says FA chiefs have offered 'Big Phil' £2.5m plus bonuses - and know they are still a long way from agreeing a deal with the Brazilian demanding double their offer.
Scolari claims he turned down approaches from English clubs two years ago because they did not offer him enough money or respect.
Instead, he renewed his contract with the Portuguese national team, even though he would have preferred to go back to the day-to-day work of club coaching.
Scolari, 57, said: "Clubs showed an interest after Portugal won the semi-finals of Euro 2004.
"Just because I reached the final of the European championships! That annoyed me. Had they waited to see whether I was really any good?
"It's true that I would have preferred to have gone to a club.
"I received offers from Portugal, England, Spain and Italy. A lot of them made offers to me which were identical to those made to coaches who had never won anything."
Scolari's salary is a stumbling block for the FA. Chief executive Brian Barwick has to count every penny due to their stretched finances which have been put under further strain because of the delay over Wembley.
The Sun says FA chiefs have offered 'Big Phil' £2.5m plus bonuses - and know they are still a long way from agreeing a deal with the Brazilian demanding double their offer.
Scolari claims he turned down approaches from English clubs two years ago because they did not offer him enough money or respect.
Instead, he renewed his contract with the Portuguese national team, even though he would have preferred to go back to the day-to-day work of club coaching.
Scolari, 57, said: "Clubs showed an interest after Portugal won the semi-finals of Euro 2004.
"Just because I reached the final of the European championships! That annoyed me. Had they waited to see whether I was really any good?
"It's true that I would have preferred to have gone to a club.
"I received offers from Portugal, England, Spain and Italy. A lot of them made offers to me which were identical to those made to coaches who had never won anything."
Scolari's salary is a stumbling block for the FA. Chief executive Brian Barwick has to count every penny due to their stretched finances which have been put under further strain because of the delay over Wembley.
