Fabio Cannavaro's future as coach of Chinese club Guangzhou Evergrande is in doubt after the club took some rather bizarre action.

Guangzhou have decided to summon the 2006 World Cup winner to corporate headquarters in order to attend an 'enterprise culture studies class,' which they deem to be necessary.

The notice on the team website said former Italy captain Cannavaro was expected to report before noon Monday, with captain Zheng Zhi taking over as acting coach in the meantime.

Fabio Cannavaro's future as coach of Chinese club Guangzhou Evergrande is now in doubt

The order follows a string of disappointing results for the team, capped by a 2-2 draw against mid-table Henan Jianye on Sunday, the club's third-straight league match without a win.

Despite that, Guangzhou remains a point ahead of Shanghai SIPG at the top of the league table and two points clear of rivals Beijing Guoan. The team's next game is against SIPG on November 22.

Cannavaro briefly did double-duty as coach of the Chinese national team before quitting earlier this year after only two games in charge.

The football legend (left) has been ordered to attend a 'enterprise culture studies class

Cannvaro became only the second defender to win the prestigious ballon d'Or award in 2006

Those matches saw losses against Uzbekistan and Thailand, with Cannavaro then saying he wanted to focus on his job at Guangzhou.

Following his playing career as a Ballon d'Or-winning defender, the 46-year-old coached in the Middle East and China, including a first stint with Guangzhou before returning to the club in 2017.