The Dagestan club, currently 11th in the Russian league, are already paying 37-year-old Roberto Carlos five million dollars per year and have offered his former Brazil team-mate Ronaldo eight million dollars to play for them.

The club is bankrolled by Russian billionaire Suleiman Kerimov, who comes from the troubled North Caucasus region that neigbours Chechnya, where Dutch football legend Ruud Gullit has coached Terek Grozny since January.

Gattuso, a World Cup winner with Italy in 2006, received a four-match suspension from UEFA last week for head-butting Tottenham assistant coach Joe Jordan in their Champions League last 16 first leg clash.