5 possible destinations for Manuel Pellegrini next season
Manuel ‘the engineer’ Pellegrini ended his reign as Manchester City manager with a draw against Swansea City that ensured Champions League qualification for his side and made life slightly easier for incoming manager Pep Guardiola.
The amicable Chilean will have fond memories of his time spent in Manchester, and can count the Premier League title he won in 2013-14 and the League Cup in the same year. He also masterminded City’s run to the last 4 of this season’s Champions League for the first time in the club’s history, where his team was knocked out by Real Madrid.
At the age of 62, many thought this would be his last major job but Pellegrini has clearly stated his desire for one more challenge before he hangs up his boots for good. There should be no shortage of suitors as the vastly experienced Chilean has vowed fans with his attacking philosophy wherever he has managed, also picking up some important trophies along the way. Which begs the million dollar question – what could be Pellegrini’s next port of call?
Here, we profile 5 most likely destinations.
1) Valencia
Manuel Pellegrini was thought to be the front-runner for the Chelsea job... till it was announced that Italian Antonio Conte would be taking over at Stamford Bridge next season. With that decided, there is every chance that Pellegrini will go back to a country where he already has a pretty solid reputation – Spain.
After enjoying successful stints at Villarreal and Malaga, with an ill-fated year at Real Madrid in between, Pellegrini knows the La Liga inside out. So, if an opportunity to coach Valencia FC arises, it could be a very appealing prospect.
Los Che have had a season to forget. The third most supported team in Spain finished 12th in La Liga with no European football to look forward to next season. After sacking coach ‘Nuno’, Valencia higher-ups shocked the footballing world by appointing TV Pundit and ex Manchester United great Gary Neville as their head coach.
The decision to hire such an inexperienced manager backfired massively for Valencia as they came perilously close to the relegation zone – an almost unthinkable thing for such a big club. After Neville was sacked on 30 March winning only 9 of his 26 games in charge, assistant coach Pako Ayesteran was given the hot seat.
Although Pako stopped the rut and ensured a mid table finish, the demanding Valencia fans would want more next season. And with a young and talented squad at his disposal, Manuel Pellegrini could just be the man for the job.