Roberto Mancini sacked by Manchester City as Pellegrini waits in wings
LONDON. May 14. KAZINFORM Roberto Mancini was finally sacked on Monday night as Manchester City manager, a year to the day after he led the club to a first championship in 44 years. The owners said the Italian's failure to meet any of his targets this season, with the exception of qualifying for the Champions League, had led to his dismissal.
The dramatic Sergio Agüero strike that won the title last May secured Mancini a lucrative five-year contract worth around £35m and a mandate to build City into an ongoing force. But 12 months on Mancini is unemployed, with the Abu Dhabi-led executive's decision to remove him coming after they allowed him to limp on when news broke on the eve of Saturday's FA Cup final with Wigan Athletic that they were in advanced discussions with Málaga's Manuel Pellegrini, who is almost certain to replace him.
Although on Monday morning Pellegrini denied he had reached an agreement with City, discussions between the club and his agent, Jesús Martínez, regarding financial terms and contractual clauses are at the stage where a deal is ready to be signed. This should now be a formality, theguardian.co.uk published.
The Chilean is likely to start his new role at the turn of the month after City said the assistant manager Brian Kidd will "take interim responsibility for the remaining two games of the season and the post-season tour to the United States".
Until the announcement confirming Mancini's removal, posted on the club website at 10.22pm, City had not issued any public comment since indications began that the manager's job was in doubt. This had cast the Italian as an increasingly isolated figure, with it becoming a matter of when not if he would lose his job.
Full version