Manuel Pellegrini to become Real Betis head coach from next season

Manuel Pellegrini has agreed to be Real Betis’s new head coach, a role he will begin at the start of next season. The Chilean has signed a three-year deal at the Benito Villamarín Stadium.

The former Manchester City manager has plenty of experience of working in Spain, having previously coached Villarreal, Real Madrid and Málaga in La Liga, but his most recent role was at West Ham.

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There are still three games remaining in the current La Liga season but Pellegrini will delay his start in Andalucia until later in the summer. Real Betis, who currently sit 13th in the table, sacked Rubi as head coach in June. The club’s sporting director, Alexis Trujillo, has taken temporary charge, winning two of his five games at the helm.

It is thought Pellegrini was a target for Betis last summer when Quique Setién left the club but a deal to bring the Chilean from West Ham was unfeasible. However, they have eventually got their man.

Pellegrini, who started in managerial career in 1988 with Universidad de Chile, does not possess a heaving trophy cabinet. During his time in Europe he won the Premier League and two League Cups at Manchester City, in addition to titles in Argentina and Ecuador.