MILAN, April 14 (Reuters) - Shareholders of UniCredit have approved the appointment of Andrea Orcel as chief executive and a proposed annual pay package of up to 7.5 million euros ($9 million), Italian daily la Repubblica reported.

Shareholders accounting for around 60% of the bank's ordinary share capital will be represented at the general meeting, which will take place on Thursday, la Repubblica said on its website, citing rumours. UniCredit had no comment.

Due to COVID-19 restrictions shareholders will not be physically present but have already voted through a company-designated proxy holder.

The paper said the remuneration package, which has been criticised by leading shareholder advisory firms, was approved by 55% of shareholders at the meeting.

The slate of directors put forward by the outgoing board, comprising Orcel as CEO and former Economy Minister Pier Carlo Padoan as president, got around 80% of votes, la Repubblica said.

In a recommendation to investors ahead of the meeting, proxy advisers Institutional Shareholder Services and Glass Lewis both backed Orcel's appointment but suggested rejecting the remuneration policy due to the "problematic pay package of the new CEO."

Orcel's pay package, which includes a guaranteed 5-million-euro share bonus for the first year, is more than double the compensation of previous CEO Jean Pierre Mustier, who left in February after falling out with the board over strategy.

($1 = 0.8347 euros) (Reporting by Valentina Za; Editing by Leslie Adler)