Manuel Pellegrini: West Ham Announce Appointment Of New Manager On Three-Year Deal
West Ham United have this morning confirmed the appointment of Chilean Manuel Pellegrini as their next permanent manager on a three-year deal, six days after previous boss David Moyes left the club.
The 64-year-old signed his contract at the club’s Rush Green training ground yesterday afternoon following meetings with Joint-Chairman David Sullivan, having flown to the United Kingdom from China over the weekend.
Pellegrini left his post at Chinese Super League outfit Hebei Fortune China after almost two years on Saturday, going out on a high as the team defeated Chongqing Lifan 2-1.
In the statement announcing the arrival of Pellegrini at London Stadium, Sullivan, who is majority shareholder alongside David Gold with the East Londoners, had this to say on his excitement about the appointment, what the manager will bring to the table and his hopes for the future.
“I am delighted to welcome Manuel Pellegrini to West Ham United. He is one of the world’s most respected football coaches and we look forward to working with him.
“It was important that we appointed someone with knowledge and experience of the Premier League, who already has an understanding – not only of the teams and players we face – but of West Ham United and our ambitions.
“Manuel brings a reputation for attacking football and getting the best out of his players. We believe he will attract new talent to the London Stadium as well as improving the current squad.
“Above all, he is a winner, who knows what it takes to succeed at the highest level and is driven to continue that success. Manuel is the first West Ham United manager to have a Premier League title on his CV, and we believe that his experience, quality and proven record of taking teams forward quickly will ensure that he is successful here.
“We have listened to fans who asked us to be ambitious. We hope they agree it is an exciting appointment.
“Manuel will shortly announce the names of the new staff he will bring in and he will then get down to shaping the squad he wants. We all wish him the very best of luck.”
In Pellegrini, the Hammers have captured a vastly experienced boss, whose has managed in three different continents and five different nations for a total of 30 years.
While the former Chile International has worked at the highest level in Europe, spending a campaign at Real Madrid and leading the likes of Villarreal, Malaga and Manchester City into the UEFA Champions League, it’s his Premier League experience that will count the mist for West Ham.
He spent three seasons in charge at the Etihad Stadium, arriving in the summer of 2013 and lifting the English Top-Flight title in his first term as the first non-European gaffer to do so, his City team setting a record for most goals scored in a single campaign in the process.
When Pellegrini left English football for pastures new in China at the end of the 2015/2016 campaign, the veteran had one of the best managerial records in the history of the league.
Since being overtaken by the man who replaced him in Manchester Pep Guardiola, he possessed the fifth-highest PL win percentage and also departed with two English League Cups to his name.
According to reports, the ex-River Plate and San Lorenzo boss who’s also a qualified mechanic’s three-year contract is worth a whopping £10 million per year, that’s more than some of the league’s “Big Six” managers.
This would make him the highest-paid and most expensive of the 17 permanent managers in the club’s history and certainly one of the more prestigious.
Pellegrini takes over from Moyes in Stratford after the Scot was not offered a new contract despite comfortably keeping the Irons in the division, having replaced Slaven Bilic in the midst of a relegation battle at the back end of last year.
All involved with West Ham will be hopeful that the South American can improve on the team’s 13th placed finish and 44 points last term, in the coming campaign.
To do this, the gaffer may have to be financially backed by owners and a board that have come under immense scrutiny for the way they have run the Hammers in the last few months.
It has been well-documented that Moyes wasn’t perhaps supported enough financially in the winter transfer window, in spite of possessing a threadbare squad and plague if injuries by this stage.
However, Pellegrini is expected to invest and make additions to the playing staff this summer as well as clearing out some of the current unwanted names in East London.
While recruitment may be tricky with this summer’s FIFA World Cup, the Hammers will confirm a few new signings this week in the form of Pellegrini’s backroom staff.
One of those is almost nailed on to be his assistant of the best part of 20 years in Ruben Cousillas, who followed him from South America, to Europe, and then to Asia, it is unclear at present who else will be signed up to help behind the scenes.
You can catch further reaction to the appointment of experienced Chilean Manuel Pellegrini at the London Stadium as the new man to take West Ham United forward, throughout the day here on West Ham Matters.
