Manuel Pellegrini's agent has said that the Chilean wants to remain as Malaga coach.

However, Jesus Martinez insists that the former Real Madrid boss will only commit himself to the Spanish club if past payments due to him are cleared up.

"They are currently not up to date on payments," he told Onda Cero. "Things cannot be promised that then cannot be met. Undoubtedly, Manuel wants to stay in Malaga, as evidenced by what he has done and is doing. It seems that Malaga is a fairytale. This is sporting-wise, but not institutionally.

"The club is not perfect, they cannot continue as they have. [We want] real solutions. This is the only concern of Pellegrini. Malaga can continue more or less with some premises so as to fight for between third and sixth. When we signed, he believed that he could grow the club to be an alternative to Madrid and Barcelona. Now we cannot get to that level but we can compete with Sevilla and Valencia.

"Pellegrini wants to strengthen, so that the continuity of the project is a reality - at the time it was, but now it is in the air. Manuel can never thank or be as happy as he has been in Malaga. He has a contract and a clause of €4m (£3.5). Nobody has come to Malaga with those €4m asking for permission to speak with Pellegrini. Therefore we have our feet on the ground, trying to continue with the project."

Pellegrini was appointed the Malaga coach in November 2010.