Malaga are delaying the release of boss Manuel Pellegrini to Manchester City due to an ongoing contractual dispute.
The Daily Mirror reports that Pellegrini has not been paid by Malaga for two months and that a third month without payment could backfire on the Costa del Sol outfit, as the Chilean would be entitled to walk away free.
This would mean that City would not have to pay compensation of around €4m, the buy-out clause in Pellegrini’s contract that would see him released from the final year of his deal with Los Blanquiazules.
It is understood that the 59-year-old has agreed a three-year deal with the Sky Blues and was expected to be confirmed as boss at the Etihad Stadium earlier this week.
However, he has already met with City chief executive Ferran Soriano and director of football Txiki Begiristain, althoughhe has still not signed on the dotted line despite sanctioning deals in the past week for midfielders Fernandinho from Shakhtar Donetsk and Sevilla’s Jesus Navas.
The knock-on effect from Pellegrini’s case is that Malaga themselves are delaying the appointment of Bernd Schuster as new Coach, although a deal for the former Real Madrid, Getafe and Levante boss is understood to have been put in place.
