Espanyol announce new deal for manager | OneFootball

Espanyol have announced a new deal for manager Manolo Gonzalez, who guided the team to safety last season on the final day of the season. Gonzalez spent much of his career in the third, fourth and fifth tiers of Catalan football before making the jump to Espanyol’s senior side.

For Gonzalez, the fairytale rise is set to continue. Los Pericos have announced a new deal for Gonzalez, extending his deal by another year until 2027. That said, MD detail that there is a get-out clause from the deal with Espanyol are relegated.

Gonzalez continues upward trajectory

The 46-year-old spent the first four years of his career on the other side of the city at Badalona, before spells at Ebro, Badalona for a second time, and then Penya Deportiva until 2023. Gonzalez then took the job as the B team manager at the RCDE Stadium, before being handed the senior job on a caretaker basis in March of 2024.

Finishing in the play-off spots, Gonzalez guided Los Pericos to promotion from Segunda against Real Oviedo, and this year to safety in his first season in La Liga. Over the last two years, he has moved up three tiers of football.

Image via RCD Espanyol

Significant announcement after takeover

It is a significant announcement after it was annouced on Monday that the VLS group and Alan Pace had become majority shareholders, replacing Chen Yansheng and the Rastar Group. The news will be seen as a vote of confidence from the new owners, where so often a change in leadership can have an impact on a manager’s job security.

A second significant renewal

Espanyol will be hoping it provides some stability off the back of a renewal for captain Javi Puado, who at one point looked as if he would be moving on this summer as his contract ran down. Despite the loss of Joan Garcia, it’s been a positive window so far, with Roberto Fernandez making his loan permanent, and the arrivals of Kike Garcia and Marko Dmitrovic.