It is believed the coach earned between R600000 and R800000 a month, before deductions. He still has two years left on his contract with the national team. The cost of terminating his agreement early will run into millions.

Stand-in coach Steve Komphela and Swallows coach Gordon Igesund are the frontrunners for the job, but it is unlikely they will get as much as Mosimane.

Mosimane earned only half of what his predecessor, Carlos Alberto Parreira, earned. But the Brazilian, who coached South Africa during the 2010 World Cup, was paid mostly from the $20-million legacy fund that Fifa gave to Safa.

Fifa insisted that South Africa should hire a top international coach to ensure the host team would be competitive.

In his first stint as Bafana coach, Parreira earned a reported R1.8-million a month. He took over in 2007, but resigned in April 2008 to be with his sick wife. He was briefly succeeded by Joel Santana, who earned R1.4-million a month. Parreira earned R1.2-million a month in his second stint with Bafana.