Real Betis have announced the appointment of Gus Poyet as the club's new manager.

The 47-year-old Uruguayan will take over at the Benito Villamarin when replacing interim boss Juan Merino who will oversee the final La Liga match of the season against Getafe on Sunday.

Former Zaragoza, Chelsea and Tottenham forward Poyet had been managing Greek club AEK Athens but was removed after announcing he would be leaving at the end of the season.

With previous managerial experience at Brighton & Hove Albion and Sunderland, Betis are looking for Poyet to deliver a successful era of football to the Andalusian outfit.

A statement from the club read: "Real Betis have signed Uruguayan coach Gustavo Poyet as new Betis coach for the next two seasons.

"Poyet will be one of the cornerstones of the new sports project headed by Miguel Torrecilla.

"Real Betis want to especially thank the work done by Juan Merino and his coaching staff this season, who has managed to ward off the team from the lower part of the division."