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XtraTime Web Desk: East Bengal Club President Dr Pranab Dasgupta has tested positive for COVID-19. Dr Dasgupta has been admitted in a super specialty hospital on the EM Bypass on Monday. The 74 year old Gynaecologist and obstetrician (consultant in infertility) has been associated with the East Bengal as President for the last decade.
Meanwhile the club coach last season Spaniard Mario Rivera has made it clear that he will not wait forever for the club to re-appoint him and is open to considering offers, even from Indian Super League (ISL) teams in the near future.

East Bengal have been without an investor since June when Quess Corp. parted ways abruptly. The Red and Gold side is set to take part in the I-League this season after missing the ISL bus despite much hue and cry over their expected non-participation in the country's top division.

Rivera, who guided East Bengal to a second place finish in the truncated I-League, has been in talks with the club officials since returning to Spain and the club is keen to retain him for the upcoming season despite appointing 'coach' Francisco Bruto da Costa last month.

"In the last two months, communication is one time a week. They are telling me what the situation is. We are not in touch too much as there is not much update to give, but we are in touch. They don't have news about new investors as of now," Rivera told IANS from Madrid.

"When I left Kolkata, they did not tell me about ISL or I-League. They want me as the head coach. It was the conversation two months ago and it is the same," said the UEFA Pro Licence coach who has had most of his coaching stints in Spain.

"We could not do any contract when I left Kolkata as they parted ways with their investor. Now when they have a new investor, we will talk then," said the 43-year old who was contracted with Quess East Bengal till May 31.
"They wanted me to continue for the next season. We did not talk about conditions at that time they did not know about investors. I said then we will talk about what they know."

"I am ok to play in the I-League. I think East Bengal deserves to play ISL but if they finally play I-League, I am ok with it," said Rivera when asked about East Bengal playing in India's second tier league this term.

Quizzed if he has any deadline as to how long he would wait to hear from East Bengal before deciding on his next move, Rivera said: "I will wait for East Bengal. But I cannot wait forever.”

With Inputs from IANS