New West Ham United boss Manuel Pellegrini and his wife were reportedly 'mugged at gunpoint' on Saturday evening as they visited a restaurant in the Chilean capital Santiago.

According to The Sun, the robbers stole a handbag belonging to Pellegrini's wife, Carola Pucci, before shooting at the police who tried to stop them.

The pair were said to have been targeted while walking to a restaurant in Vitacura - a suburb of Santiago.

"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," local police chief Gonzalo Munoz is quoted as saying by the newspaper.

Meanwhile, Pellegrini took to Twitter to praise the Chilean police for their "quick and courageous reaction".

"Congratulations to @Carabdechile [for] your quick and courageous reaction. I appreciate the support of the people. I hope you are given more powers to police to solve the issue of crime as soon as possible," Pellegrini tweeted.

Pellegrini was unveiled as West Ham's new manager last month on a three-year contract.