The couple were mugged on Saturday evening as they headed to a restaurant with friends in the Chilean capital Santiago
WEST Ham manager Manuel Pellegrini and his wife are recovering after being held up by armed robbers who shot at police before escaping.
The couple were mugged on Saturday evening as they headed to a restaurant with friends in Chile's capital, Santiago, where the new Irons gaffer was born.
The men stole a handbag thought to belong to Carola Pucci, Pellegrini’s wife, before shooting at police who tried to stop them.
They sped off in a stolen Porsche Macan S, which was later found abandoned by officers.
The terrifying incident happened near a shopping mall called Casa Costanera in an upmarket suburb of Santiago called Vitacura.
No-one was hurt in the drama, despite the armed robbers throwing road spikes down to stop cops chasing them after one fired his weapon.
A police helicopter was mobilised in the hunt for the criminals, whose getaway car was eventually found in a suburb of Santiago called Conchali.
Officers also recovered the stolen handbag, which reportedly belonged to Pellegrini’s wife - although police would only confirm it belonged a woman and would not say if it was Carola’s or the female friend she and her husband were with.
They also confirmed the Porsche, taken just a fortnight ago, had false number plates and that they suspected it had been stolen to order so it could be used to commit other crimes.
The Chilean West Ham manager and his wife were targeted seconds after they parked their car and started walking towards the restaurant where they were due to have dinner.
Pellegrini and his friends are said to have tried to calm the criminals down while they pointed their weapon at them and demanded their valuables.
The armed robbers were intercepted by police as they tried to run to their car.
Local police chief Gonzalo Munoz confirmed: “They fired two shots at officers and threw road spikes down to stop them following as they sped off which resulted in a police car being damaged.”
No arrests have yet been made.
The owner of the stolen Porsche told local media yesterday: “I can’t understand how these sorts of things are happening and you can’t even go out for dinner without being robbed like this.
“It’s very serious.”
Pellegrini, appointed as West Ham’s new manager in May, thanked Chilean police who are known as Carabineros - in a tweet.
He said: “Congratulations to @Carabdechile for their speedy and brave reaction.
“I’m also thankful for the help of locals. I hope they give the Carabineros more resources to solve the problem of delinquency as soon as possible.”
Local Pedro Hernandez replied: “Criminality has bee out of control in Chile for some time. That’s the perception citizens like me have.”
A spokesman for West Ham United said: "Our Joint-Chairman David Sullivan has been in touch with Manuel Pellegrini to offer our good wishes and support. We are relieved to hear that Manuel and his wife were both unharmed."
Pellegrini managed Man City for five seasons before leaving for China.
He managed Chinese Super League club Heibei China Fortune FC for two years before the Hammers swooped in for him for the coming season.
He and his wife were back in their homeland on holiday ahead of him taking the reins at the London Stadium.
Carola and Pellegrini wed in 1988 and have three sons named Nicolas, Juan Ignacio and Manuel.
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at [email protected] or call 0207 782 4368. You can WhatsApp us on 07810 791 502. We pay for videos too. Click here to upload yours.
