A court in China alleged that Tie gave and received bribes totalling over $16m (£12.6m) between 2015 and 2021.

This time period encompasses stints in charge of Hebei China Fortune and the China national team.

Tie, now 47, is reported to have confessed to fixing matches as well as accepting and offering bribes.

The court reportedly said Tie would select certain players for the national team and help clubs win competitions and sign players in exchange for bribes.

His sentencing marks a continuation of Chinese president Xi Jinping’s crackdown on corruption, with three former Chinese Football Association officials having already been jailed for bribery this week.

Speaking in an anti-corruption documentary aired by state broadcaster CCTV earlier this year, Tie said: “I’m very sorry. I should have kept my head to the ground and followed the right path. There were certain things that at the time were common practices in football.”

Tie spent two years in South Yorkshire between 2006 and 2008 but was only afforded one competitive outing for the Blades after joining from Everton.

He left to join Chengdu Tiancheng in his native China, a club then known as Chengdu Blades due to their shared ownership with Sheffield United.