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Belgium facing €1m Marc Wilmots stumbling block

Marc Wilmots has come in for strong criticism
Marc Wilmots has come in for strong criticism

Belgian football chief executive Gerard Linard has revealed the national federation may struggle to meet a payoff of at least €1m for Belgium boss Marc Wilmots.

His future was cast into doubt after Belgium, second in FIFA's world rankings, crashed out of Euro 2016 after losing 3-1 to Wales in the quarter-finals, with critics saying he had failed to capitalise on a gifted generation of players led by Chelsea's Eden Hazard and Manchester City's Kevin De Bruyne.

"The indemnity for Marc Wilmots is at least €1m," Linard said in an interview which appeared in several Belgian newspapers.

"That's a problem for the federation as we do not have the same budget as France, Spain or Germany."

Linard said no decision on the future of Wilmots would be made until next week.

He was quick to dampen suggestions that Belgium would sign an internationally renowned manager such as Dutchman Louis van Gaal.

"I believe an internationally renowned name such as Van Gaal is not affordable for the Belgian federation... unless the manager in question makes some real concessions," he said.