Former Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur manager Andre Villas-Boas has quit Chinese club Shanghai SIPG and intends to take a break from football – first and foremost so he can pursue his interest in motorsports.

Villas-Boas had been linked with a return to the Premier League as Everton’s new manager but has made it clear he does not intend to work in England again. Instead, having quit the Chinese Super League, he plans to compete in the Dakar Rally in 2018.

A self-confessed motorsports enthusiast, Villas-Boas will follow in the footsteps of his uncle Pedro who took part in the event back in 1982. Organisers have announced that Villas-Boas will drive a Toyota Hilux with Portuguese compatriot Ruben Faria, who finished runner-up in the motorcycle category in 2013.

According to the official Dakar Rally website, Villas-Boas intended to take part on a motorbike at first but was convinced to make a less risky debut. “I spoke with my friend Alex Doringer, the manager of the KTM team, who told me that I would still need a full year's preparation to get there and that it was better to consider doing it with a car,” he said.

The Dakar Rally has a reputation as an extremely challenging event credit: Jean-Paul Pelissier/Reuters

The 40 year-old initially refused to discuss his future after his side lost to city rivals Shanghai Shenhua in the Chinese FA Cup Final last Sunday, which was settled over two legs.

Villas-Boas was offered a one-year contract extension but turned it down and made his exit from China, where he replaced Sven-Goran Eriksson as the coach of Shanghai SIPG last November. He made former Chelsea midfielder Oscar one of his marquee signings during his time at SIPG.

Villas-Boas said after his final game: “It is not the right time to talk about whether I'm staying or leaving. SIPG knows my decision, so will you. But this is not the best time to talk about it.”

Villas-Boas had previously been coach of Russian club Zenit St-Petersburg, who he joined four months after being sacked by Spurs in December 2013. The Portuguese spent two-and-a-half years working in England after he arrived at Chelsea who poached him from Porto – where he had just won the Europa League – this after triggering a €15 million release clause.

Andre Villas-Boas and Luiz Felipe Scolari (right) both coached in China credit: AFP

He lasted less than a year at Stamford Bridge and while he did somewhat better at Spurs, it ultimately ended in frustration for him. Villas-Boas vowed he did not want to work in England again.

Although he did not hold talks with Everton it is believed he was sounded out recently, once it was clear his fellow Portuguese Marco Silva – with whom he shares an agent – would not be released by Watford.

However, Villas-Boas, who had previously worked with Everton’s director of football Steve Walsh at Chelsea, did not want to consider a return. Interestingly, he has always been clear that he does not intend to be a football manager forever and spoke of retiring from management when he was in his 40s.

Back when he was still at Tottenham, Villas-Boas said: “My passion for football makes me live it very intensively over 11 months and dedicate myself to that, but I think life allows you to enjoy other things.

“To compete in the Dakar Rally is a lifetime ambition for me and is something I know I have to do.” It looks like that ambition is about to be realised.