Real Betis have dismissed reports that boss Manuel Pellegrini will leave for China before managing a game for the club.
The highly-respected Antonio Cordon, who was appointed as the club’s sporting director earlier this month, has poured cold water on the rumours.
💚 Según fuentes de @RNE, el recién nombrado técnico del @RealBetis, Manuel Pellegrini, estaría barajando una oferta del fútbol chino.
👤 Jordi Cruyff es la primera opción para el director deportivo, Antonio Cordón.
🎙️ Enrique Olivareshttps://t.co/tnySw1p5dx pic.twitter.com/1gRriyqlDF
— RadiogacetaRNE (@RadiogacetaRNE) July 30, 2020
Pellegrini – who has been out of work since leaving West Ham in December – has taken over first-team affairs after Alexis Trujillo had stepped in as interim boss for the run-in for La Liga.
The Chilean was appointed at the Seville-based club on a three-year contract earlier this month and is back in Spanish football after enjoying stints in charge at Villarreal, Real Madrid and Malaga.
“All Betis fans should be calm because they have a coach for a while,” Cordon told Cadena Ser’s El Larguero show, as cited by Diario AS.
“You (the media) have to be very imaginative. Pellegrini has come to Betis with an incredible vision and all his efforts are focused on Betis. The news is out of context.
“It is true that when I arrived Pellegrini was already at the club, but I think the club knew us both and knew that we had a good relationship.”
Cordon spent a total of 17 years at Villarreal, firstly as a scout and then moving up to the position of sporting director, where he worked alongside Pellegrini and spent a year at Monaco.
The 56-year-old – who was most recently involved with the Ecuadorian national team – struck up a successful tandem with Pellegrini at Villarreal, who reached the Champions League semi-finals in 2006.
