Real Betis manager Manuel Pellegrini has the task of stopping Chelsea in the final of the Conference League on Wednesday and has spoken about his own team's chances
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Manuel Pellegrini ahead of the 2025 Conference League final
Manuel Pellegrini ahead of the 2025 Conference League final
(Image: UEFA via Getty Images)
Manuel Pellegrini says big-spending Chelsea have got the bigger budget - but insisted they are not favourites to win the Europa Conference League. Real Betis boss Pellegrini has overcome huge financial pressures to reach the final and says his players and their determination means it is far from being a David versus Goliath battle.
Ex-West Ham and Manchester City boss Pellegrini said: “It's very easy for me to say that Chelsea are favourites. Their budget is a little bit more than ours. But I don't agree with that.
“I think that both teams have exactly the same chance to win the game tomorrow. 90 minutes in a game, everyone can win. It depends on the performance of the players. We have a player with a lot of experience also.
“We don't think that we are David and Goliath. We think we have exactly the same possibility to win the game. We are going to start from the first minute to try to do it.
“It doesn't matter how much one team spent or the other team. In 90 minutes on the pitch we will have exactly the same chance to win the game.”
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Pellegrini has overseen a remarkable turnaround in fortunes at Betis and one of his biggest successes has been the loan signing of Manchester United's £86m Brazilian outcast Antony. Antony has been outstanding during his loan spell and his performances have proved a point and got him back into the Brazil national squad and Pellegrini says the on-loan United star is driven by “revenge.”
Pellegrini said: “I spoke with him before he came to Betis. He told me that he was not playing because he was not happy. But he has a lot of complaints about what he has done. He wants revenge.
“I think he did it the way we know he can do it. It is not easy for you to pay 100 million for a player. Antony is a very good player. I am absolutely sure that this is a huge time for him to continue improving his career.”
Action from Real Betis vs Valencia
Betis drew with Valencia in their final game of the La Liga season
Pellegrini dismissed the notion that Chelsea have a ready-made excuse that they played two days later than their Spanish rivals whose last game, a draw with Valencia, was last Friday. Pellegrini added: “I think that in football you cannot give any advantage to your rival. Of course, they had a difficult game on Sunday. They must qualify for the Champions League. They did it, so I am very happy for him.
“But it will not be an excuse because you need to play three days after that game. During the whole season, you always have to play, especially when you play in the Champions League or European games, you have to play on Thursday, Sunday, Wednesday or Saturday.
“So I am absolutely sure that Chelsea will be recuperated and will be there on Sunday. Tomorrow will be a difficult team with one or two days less of rest.”
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