Russia’s Zenit St Petersburg have appointed ex-Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini as their new head coach on an initial three-year contract.
The former Italy forward, 52, replaces Mircea Lucescu who was sacked last week after one season in charge.
Zenit finished third in the Russian Premier League club and missed out on Champions League qualification.
Mancini, who won the Premier League title with Manchester City in 2012, most recently managed Inter Milan.
The Italian, who left Inter by mutual agreement in 2016, has the option of extending his contract at Zenit for a further two years.
Meanwhile, Pep Guardiola insists Manchester City will close the gap to Chelsea and Tottenham next season after steering the club to a third-placed finish in his debut campaign in England.
Guardiola was appointed as Manuel Pellegrini’s replacement at the Etihad Stadium last year following his successful spells as manager of Barcelona and Bayern Munich in the past.
But his first season in charge of City proved tricky, with inconsistent results during the first half of the campaign in particular seeing the club fall away from leaders and eventual winners Chelsea and nearest challengers Tottenham in the race for the Premier League title.
