Former Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini and his wife have been mugged at gunpoint in Chile.
Pellegrini – who became boss of Premier League rivals West Ham United last month – and wife Carola Pucci were held up by gunmen as they headed to a restaurant with friends on Saturday evening.
The armed robbers shot at police before fleeing the scene, in the Chilean capital Santiago, in a stolen Porsche Cayenne, which was later recovered.
The car was later found abandoned in the suburb of Conchali and police say they recovered a handbag, although they would not confirm whether it belonged to Pucci or a female friend the couple were with.
Pellegrini took to Twitter on Sunday to thank police.
He said: “Congratulations to @Carabdechile [for] your quick and courageous reaction. I appreciate the support of the people. I hope you are given more powers to police to solve the issue of crime as soon as possible.”
Police chief Gonzalo Munoz confirmed the gunmen had fired two shots at officers and tried to hinder the chance by throwing road spikes down.
Felicitaciones a @Carabdechile por su rápida y valiente reacción. Agradezco el apoyo de la gente. Ojalá se le otorguen mas facultades a Carabineros para solucionar el tema de la delincuencia lo antes posible.
— Manuel Pellegrini R. (@Ing_Pellegrini) June 3, 2018
No arrests have been made so far.
Pellegrini, who led City to the Premier League title in 2014, had been managing Hebei China Fortune in China before signing a three year deal with the Hammers to replace David Moyes.
