29 Jun 2026 14:24 BST |
5 min read
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Manchester City have officially announced the appointment of Enzo Maresca as their new manager after reaching an agreement with Chelsea.
The Italian has now formally succeeded Pep Guardiola in the Etihad dugout, finally confirming the worst-kept secret in football. A former assistant to the legendary Man City manager, Maresca was always the preferred choice to succeed him.
City initiated talks with the 46-year-old last year while he was still in charge of Chelsea. Maresca was contractually obligated to inform the Blues of these discussions, which did not go down well.
Chelsea believed that it was unprofessional of Maresca to engage with City, and things ultimately came to a head when the head coach quit his job on 1 January. Because he wasn’t sacked, he remained under contract with Chelsea.
As a result, Man City had to agree a compensation fee with the Blues in order to be able to appoint Maresca, and the Stamford Bridge outfit, still upset about the manner of his departure, did not make life easy.
Man City appoint Maresca
After what felt like ages, Man City’s lawyers finally achieved a breakthrough with their Chelsea counterparts last week, with the Manchester club agreeing to shell out a whopping €20 million to buy Maresca out of his contract.
With City now having officially announced his appointment, Maresca has become one of the most expensive managers (his job title is not head coach) in the history of football. He has signed a three-year contract at the Etihad.
According to Nizaar Kinsella, Chelsea will also receive an “undisclosed settlement” from Maresca in addition to the €20m fee from Man City, given that the Italian just walked away from his contract.
In response to the appointment, Chelsea have also released a statement in which they give their side of the story. Evidently, there is still bad blood, with the club simply referring to Maresca as “our former head coach” instead of actually naming him.
In the statement, which is as scathing as it is petty, Chelsea insinuate that Maresca lacks “integrity” and that the separation in January was solely instigated by the coach. That may not be the full truth, however, as reports at the time suggested that Chelsea could just as well have sacked him amid a downturn in form and behind-the-scenes tension.
“Chelsea FC appreciates the 2025/26 season was a hugely disappointing one for the Club and its supporters,” the statement began. “A major contributing factor was the disruption caused as a result of changes that the Club was forced to make to the Head Coach position over the Christmas period.
“Due to recent developments, we consider that it is important to explain to our supporters what happened and why our former Head Coach left the Club on 1 January 2026.
“In Autumn last year, the Club was informed by our former Head Coach that there might be an opportunity for him to succeed Pep Guardiola at the end of the season.
“It became clear to us that it was his strong desire to succeed Guardiola and that he was fully committed to pursuing the opportunity, despite the fact he was under a long-term contract which he had no right to terminate.
“In December 2025, our Head Coach unexpectedly and abruptly resigned from his position. Obviously, we felt let down as we believed that his head and heart were focused on another club and another opportunity, despite having just arrived at Chelsea the year before.
“No club wants to change its head coach midway through a season. However, in light of his decision not to continue fulfilling his responsibilities through to the end of the season, the Club was left with no choice but to protect our players, our supporters, and the Badge and accept his resignation.
“In the circumstances and given the mutual respect between clubs, a confidential settlement has been reached with Manchester City, which includes the payment of compensation.
“A confidential settlement has also been reached with the former Head Coach under which he will pay compensation.
“Looking forward to next season, in Xabi Alonso, we have a Manager who has an exceptional football mind and is a professional of the highest integrity. He has all the attributes to deliver the success the Club’s supporters deserve and expect.”
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