Capello in the money: Italian set to earn more than vast fortune Sven grabbed

Fabio Capello agreed to become England's new coach last night in a deal that will see him earn even more than Sven Goran Eriksson.

FA chief executive Brian Barwick believes he has secured the services of a 'world-class manager' after spending three hours with the 61-year-old Italian at Wembley yesterday and today he will seek the approval of the FA board.

He expects to get that, just as he now expects Capello to sign a two-and-a-half year contract that will pay him in the region of £6million a year, with a two-year option to take England to the 2012 European Championship as well as the 2010 World Cup.

Capello will earn around 20 per cent more than Eriksson, making him the highest-paid international coach in history. The former AC Milan and Real Madrid manager flew home from Heathrow last night but left his legal team in London to complete contract negotiations.

He could return as early as tomorrow for his official unveiling.

Marcello Lippi, the World Cup-winning fellow Italian who was also considered by Barwick, last night said the FA had made the 'best possible choice for England'.

He added: 'You only have to see how many trophies he has won to realise what his qualities are.'

Former England striker Mark Hateley, who lived in the same housing complex as Capello when he played for AC Milan, is predicting a few surprises in his former coach's teams. Hateley warned England's underperforming stars: 'Be worried, be very worried. This man will not suffer fools.

'He will drop people. He will bring people in who you least expect. He's not in this to pick individuals.' But John Barnwell, chief executive of the League Managers' Association, said: 'If we are saying there is no English coach able to do the job then that is an indictment of our game.

'It shows there must be something deeply wrong and the development of our young coaches is a major concern.'