Real Betis made an approach to appoint former Arsenal boss Unai Emery but were turned down and will refocus their attempts on Marcelino Garcia Toral.
Emery – who previously managed Sevilla, the city rivals of Betis – was sacked from his position in North London last November following a prolonged run of bad form, despite taking the Gunners to last season’s Europa League final.
A report in Diario AS claims Emery rejected the approach from the Seville-based club due to the fact he does not want to join a club in the middle of a season and also because the squad is not designed for his needs.
The Spanish boss has accumulated ten trophies in five years and has played in six European finals and he has coached in more than 600 games across La Liga, Ligue 1 and the Premier League.
As outlined by Estadio Deportivo, former Watford boss Javi Gracia and Manuel Pellegrini – formerly of Malaga, Manchester City and West Ham, among others – are on the Betis shortlist to replace under-pressure boss Rubi, alongside Marcelino.
UEFA has confirmed plans to finalise this season’s Champions League and Europa League tournaments. Find out the details right here.
