Manuel Pellegrini has finally ended speculation surrounding his future at Malaga by revealing that he will leave the Spanish side during the summer.
The Chilean, 59, is widely tipped to take charge at Premier League moneybags Manchester City following the departure of Roberto Mancini two weeks ago.
At the Malaga end-of-season awards ceremony, Pellegrini was quick to thank club bosses for supporting him during his tenure, although he admitted that he feels he has taken his current side as far as he can.
“I’m not leaving because of financial ambition, but because of a project that will let me feel fulfilled,” he said.
“On Sunday, I will take charge of my last match at the Rosaleda, everyone has the right to follow their own path.”
“I would like to thank the owners of the club for putting their trust in me.” He added.
The former Real Madrid and Villarreal boss had endured a successful season with the ‘Boquerones’, having guided them to the quarter-finals of the Champions League in their first season in the competition before they were dramatically knocked out by finalists Borussia Dortmund thanks to two late injury time goals.
If the former Chile international defender does leave for Eastlands, he will arrive with a heavy burden of expectation given his impressive record of managing La Liga sides. He has also gained a reputation for nurturing young talent and rumours are circulating that one of his Malaga prodigies, Isco, could follow him to Manchester City.
In 2004, Pellegrini took up his first big managerial role in charge of Villarreal. During his first season at the helm, he guided the club to Champions League qualification following a 3rd place finish in the domestic league; they also went on to feature in the quarter-finals of the Uefa Cup later that season.
In 2006, he then led the club to the semi-finals of Europe’s premier competition before they eventually lost out to Arsenal over two legs. By this time, the Chilean was attracting plenty of plaudits from across Europe for his attractive style of play, leading to serious interest from Los Galacticos, Real Madrid.
In the summer of 2009, Pellegrini left Villarreal to take charge at the Santiago Bernabéu. Although he was sacked after just one season in charge, the 59-year-old could take comfort from the fact that he managed to win 31 out of 38 league games, despite finishing 2nd behind Catalan rivals Barcelona.
The early favourite to succeed Pellegrini at Malaga is current Wigan Athletic boss Roberto Martinez, who can be backed at 3-1. Former Seville and Real Madrid manager Juande Ramos is also in contention, currently priced at 25-1 to take up the reins on the Costa del Sol. Various promotions from the betting world can be found at http://freebets.com/, and there will be continued speculation about Pellegrini’s successor in the weeks to come.
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andym
Founder and chief editor of La Liga Blog, Andy fell in love with Spanish football after a university placement year in the Costa Del Sol. His favourite Tapas is Albondigas and on Saturday afternoons, Andy can regularly be found trying to emulate his hero Carles Puyol for his amateur football team.