After every stumble by the Chilean national team, the name of coach Manuel Pellegrini spontaneously comes up to fill the position. With his seventh season now underway at Spain's Betis, the manager has never been closer to La Roja. He even maintains a clause that allows him to take over the national team at any moment.
However, there is still a long way to go. At the end of last November, after several months of uncertainty, the Engineer decided to renew his commitment to the Béticos.
Of course, the new agreement was crafted with the clear intention of keeping La Roja on the agenda. While the club hoped to retain its historic manager for at least two more years, after last June 30 the Santiago native got ahead of the board's intentions and decided that the agreement would only be signed until mid-2027.
The reason was always the real possibility of taking the bench of his national team. In that scenario, the Béticos had to accept the Chilean coach's proposal in order to keep him.
But the team's good form in the current season has reopened the institution's interest. So far there have only been preliminary soundings, although the channels are open between the directors and their star manager.
Chile is a priority
Indeed, La Roja is not far from the coach's horizon. In fact, the man himself has said so publicly. Always attentive to the elections that will define…
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After every stumble by the Chilean national team, the name of coach Manuel Pellegrini spontaneously emerges to fill the position. With his seventh season now underway at Spain's Betis, the manager has never been closer to La Roja. He even maintains a clause that allows him to take over the national team at any moment. However, there is still a long way to go. At the end of last November, after several months of uncertainty, the Engineer decided to renew his commitment to the Béticos. Of course, the new agreement was crafted with the clear intention of keeping La Roja on the agenda. While the club had hoped to retain its historic manager for at least two more years, after last June 30 the Santiago native got ahead of the board's intentions and decided that the agreement would only be signed through mid-2027. The reason was always the real possibility of taking the bench of his national team. In that scenario, the Béticos had to accept the Chilean coach's proposal to secure his stay. But the team's good form in the current season has rekindled the institution's interest. So far there have only been preliminary soundings, although the channels remain open between the executives and their star manager. Chile is a priorityLa Roja is precisely not far from the coach's horizon. In fact, the man himself has said so publicly. He has always kept an eye on the elections that will define the president of Chilean football, coming up next November. "I have a contract until June 2027 at Betis. In Chile there is a board whose term ends in November and there will be elections, so talking about the future now is very difficult," said the eternal candidate last July. But the facts say otherwise. According to information gathered by El Deportivo, in the last contract signed by the club and its manager there is a distinct clause in case the eventual new president of the Chilean federation picks up the phone to call the Santiago native. The contract contains a clause that allows the coach to leave at zero cost if the interested party is the Chilean national team. In addition, it is contractually established that any other institution seeking the Engineer must pay a figure close to 8 million dollars. "Manuel Pellegrini remains very enthusiastic about the idea of coaching Chile. He knows it is a pending debt with his country. He is a professional who always fulfills his contracts to the letter, but he can leave at any moment if his national team needs him. That is known at Betis," a close associate of the Seville side's coach tells El Deportivo. NEWSLETTEREl DeportivoMonday, 8:45 AMA special selection with coverage and analysis of the most important sporting events of the weekend, by the Sports team of La Tercera. By subscribing you are accepting the Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policies of La Tercera.