La Liga side Real Betis officially introduced Manuel Pellegrini as their new manager. Pellegrini, who previously managed Real Madrid and Manchester City among other clubs, will join Betis on a three-year deal through the 2022/23 season.
Betis was left without a manager in June when the club decided to fire Rubi after a series of poor results. Sporting director Alexis Trujillo took over on interim basis and will see out the remainder of the La Liga campaign.
“Real Betis have appointed a coach of a high level and big international prestige to elevate the performance of the first team in a three-year project,” said the club in a statement.
It’s believed that Betis wanted to hire Pellegrini last summer, but the Chilean was still with Premier League side West Ham at the time. They ended up settling for Rubi, who didn’t manage to get the best out of a talented team and managed 10 wins, 11 draws and 12 losses before leaving.
Manuel Pellegrini himself also had a rough stretch, having only five wins during the first part of the 2019/20 season with West Ham. He was fired back in December, leaving the club at No.17 in Premier League.
However, Pellegrini hopes that he will have more success in Spain.
“I had other offers, but I preferred Betis because I believe in the club’s project,” he said. “They want to make Betis grow, and they have done so, although perhaps not with the results on the pitch due to different circumstances.”
Betis will be Pellegrini’s fourth team in La Liga, as he previously managed Villareal, Real Madrid, and Malaga. His biggest success, however, came with Man City, with whom he won Premier League title and two League Cup trophies.
