Tottenham would have to pay £34.8m to sack Jose Mourinho, according to reports.
Spurs have slipped down the Premier League table in recent weeks, with the Portuguese coming under increasing pressure.
A 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace in December kept Tottenham at the summit of the standings, but their form has dipped alarmingly since then.
Mourinho has overseen just three victories in his team’s last 12 top-flight outings.
Tottenham have lost four of their last five matches in the Premier League, while they were knocked out of the FA Cup by Everton last week.
Reports on Tuesday suggested chairman Daniel Levy was willing to keep faith with Mourinho for the time being.
The principal reason for his patience is said to be the gargantuan cost of paying off the former Chelsea and Manchester United head coach.
And Portuguese outlet A Bola has now revealed that Mourinho would be owed an enormous £34.8m if Tottenham dismissed him.
Spurs appointed Mourinho in November 2019 after Mauricio Pochettino was sacked.
The 58-year-old is under contract with the north Londoners until the end of the 2022/23 campaign, which means he still has more than two years remaining on his deal.
Mourinho earns north of £15.2m per year, and he would be entitled to almost £40m in compensation if his contract was cut short.
Tottenham have only just stopped paying Pochettino after the Argentine agreed to become PSG’s new manager last month.
And with finances tight among the coronavirus pandemic, Spurs would struggle to fulfil their contractual obligations if Mourinho was to be fired.
That fact looks set to earn the Portuguese a stay of execution, even though Tottenham are closely monitoring the situation.
A failure to qualify for European competition could force Levy’s hand, with Spurs currently ninth in the Premier League table.
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