The Frenchman made no secret of his desire to take charge of Cairo giants Ahli, who revealed that he was one of the contenders to take up their hot seat following the resignation of Hossam Al-Badri.

However, Ahli's transfer guru Adli Al-Qaeyi said the club had already settled on the new boss but declined to disclose his identity, prompting Renard to accept an offer from Masri.

"Chairman Kamel Aboul-Ali succeeded in striking a deal with Renard to be in charge of the team until the end of the season," the Port Said-based club said in a statement on their official website.

"Abou-Ali made an acquisition that suits the caliber of Masri, given the big name and the plenty of experience Renard has."

Surprising Departure

Masri made a fine start to their Egyptian Premier League campaign under the guidance of Mokhtar Mokhtar, who took over at the club in the summer after leaving Petrojet.

The coastal team displayed an attractive attacking football, particularly raising eyebrows with an entertaining performance in a 1-0 victory over Military Production in September that briefly moved them top of the table.

They could not build momentum, however, and some disappointing results, culminating in a stunning 3-1 defeat by promoted Smouha, sealed the fate of Mokhtar.

But Mokhtar's departure was still deemed a surprising one given that Masri, who lie eighth in the 16-team table, never looked like title contenders despite making some good signings in the off season.

Former Ahli assistant coach Alaa Maihoub has been acting as an interim manager during the past week.

Renard is best known in Egypt for helping Zambia hold the Pharaohs to a 1-1 draw in Cairo in a World Cup qualifier in 2009.

He led Zambia to the quarter finals of the African Cup of Nations last January for the first time in 14 years before managing Angola for a brief spell.