Real appoint Pellegrini as coach

Real Madrid have appointed Villarreal boss Manuel Pellegrini as their new coach to replace Juande Ramos.

Pellegrini, who becomes the Spanish giants' eighth coach in five years, spent five seasons with Villarreal.

The 55-year-old Chilean was the longest-serving coach in La Liga, where he moved from Argentina after spells in charge of San Lorenzo and River Plate.

Real have paid Villarreal a reported 4m euros (£3.4m) in compensation for the services of Pellegrini.

The statement, on the club website, confirmed: "Real Madrid and Manuel Pellegrini have reached a deal for the Chilean coach to be the first team head coach during the forthcoming season."

Pellegrini, who will be presented at a media conference on Tuesday, signed a two-year contract extension with Villarreal in December 2007.

But Real have moved quickly at the end of the 2008-09 campaign to secure his services after a disappointing campaign. The move coincides with the appointment of new president, Florentino Perez, who arrives at the Santiago Bernabeu for a second time with Zinedine Zidane as an advisor.

Perez has already indicated that AC Milan's Brazilian playmaker Kaka is the number one player target for the nine-time European champions.

Real have also been strongly linked to Manchester United forward Cristiano Ronaldo, Liverpool's midfielder Xabi Alonso and Bayern Munich's winger Franck Ribery.

Pellegrini's switch from the 'Yellow Submarine' is seen as a major step to bring some much-needed stability to the Spanish giants, after bitter rivals Barcelona won the Copa del Rey, La Liga and the Champions League.

Since coach Vicente del Bosque was sacked by Perez in 2003 after winning two Champions Leagues and two league titles, the club have seen Carlos Queiroz, Jose Antonio Camacho, Mariana Garcia Remon, Wanderley Luxemburgo, Juan Ramon Lopez Caro, Fabio Capello, Schuster and Ramos come and go.