In a quick turn of events on Monday evening, Unai Emery decided to leave Villarreal and take over from Steven Gerrard at Aston Villa; a choice that has now been defended by Manuel Pellegrini, once the man in charge at West Ham United.
The former Liverpool player had recently been sacked after a poor run of results, and while names such as Mauricio Pochettino and Thomas Tuchel were mentioned by the press, it was the ex-Arsenal manager whom the Villans went after.
They were helped by the fact he had a €6m release clause in his Villarreal contract, which made him both an affordable and experienced option.
The La Liga side weren’t best pleased about their manager leaving them midway through a campaign, right before a Champions League game, but Emery defended his decision to make the move to Aston Villa by making it clear it was a professional and personal decision.
Some in Spain have criticised him, while others have jumped in to support him, with Real Betis manager Manuel Pellegrini, who has worked at both West Ham and Manchester City in the Premier League.
He said in a press conference, relayed by Marca: “I don’t think Unai’s position can be criticised at all. He was at a big club like Villarreal and he was happy, but he must have considered that it is a different option, and his contract allowed it, a contract that Villarreal signed.
“I personally like to fulfil contracts, but the release clauses are placed by both parties, so if one makes use of an exit clause, they are fulfilling a contract that is signed by both parties. It’s different to force a situation and leave creating problems in a club.”
The ex-West Ham manager then also admitted that he has a clause in his Betis contract, like Emery did at Villarreal, even if he isn’t exactly sure how much it is.
Either way, Aston Villa have their new manager, followed the rules and few should be unhappy with how they proceeded.
