Manuel Pellegrini has been named the new head coach of Chinese Super League (CSL) side Hebei China Fortune, taking over from ex-Everton midfielder Li Tie at the helm, the club announced on Saturday.
Pellegrini, who won the Premier League title in 2014 with Manchester City before being replaced by Pep Guardiola at the end of last season, will take charge of a squad that features Ezequiel Lavezzi, Gael Kakuta and Gervinho, and until recently, was challenging for a place in the top three in the league.
Hebei, however, have been in the middle of a slump since Li, who joined the club a year ago after previously working as an assistant to Marcello Lippi at Guangzhou Evergrande, publicly criticised national team officials in July, sparking a major controversy.