Pellegrini admits verbal agreement with City

Malaga boss Manuel Pellegrini has admitted that he has a verbal agreement with Manchester City to succeed Roberto Mancini as the club's new manager. "I have a verbal agreement with them and I hope it is carried out," he said in an interview with the Andalusian television station Canal Sur on Wednesday. "As of today, I don't have a signed contract. "It is true that Manchester City have shown a lot of interest that I become their coach and I have had conversations with them. "Until things have been signed, you cannot say everything is completely done." However, it seems certain that Pellegrini will take charge of the 2011/12 English champions after guiding Malaga to within a whisker of the Champions League semi-finals in their first season in the competition. Instead two controversial goals for eventual finalists Borussia Dortmund saw them bow out 3-2 on aggregate in the last eight and the club is currently banned from competing in European competition next season due to their failure to pay players and other clubs money owed from transfer fees in time. Those financial problems convinced the Chilean to leave the Andalusian club after two and a half years in charge as he lamented that the football project under owner Sheikh Abdullah Nasser Al-Thani had changed. Pellegrini guided Malaga to their highest ever league finish last season as they ended the campaign in fourth to qualify for their debut Champions League campaign. And a 3-1 win over Deportivo la Coruna in Pellegrini's last home game in charge at the weekend ensured Los Boquerones will qualify for the Europa League next season should the Court of Arbitration for Sport uphold their appeal against their European ban on June 4. Source: AFP