Pellegrini Not Surprised with Benitez Dismissal but Insisted He lasted A Season

Manuel Pellegrini has joked that at least he managed to
complete a full season at Real Madrid after Rafael Benitez
was sacked on Monday.

The Manchester City manager spent one year in charge at
the Santiago Bernabeu between 2009 and 2010.

However, after a trophy-less season - despite maintaining a
75 percent win rate - he was dismissed from the role by
Florentino Perez.

Benitez went the same way this week, albeit without having
the chance to complete the season.

“At least I finished the year!,” Pellegrini said at a news
conference on Tuesday

"I knew from the beginning I was not to continue for the next
year.

"There were some important differences with the president
[Perez], but it is not strange when you see what happened
in Real Madrid in the last five or six years."

However, the Chilean did go onto send the sacked manager
his sympathies.

“I’m sorry for Rafa Benitez, he's a manager I respect, but
I'm not surprised.”

Zinedine Zidane has replaced the former Liverpool boss in
the Spanish capital and the World Cup winner gave his first
press conference on Tuesday.

His first task in charge of the 10-time European champions
will be to pick up three points against Deportivo La Coruna
this weekend.