Manchester City succession sheds light on Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea departure

Enzo Maresca is expected to follow Pep Guardiola and it seems the decision was made a long time ago

Now the secret is out it is possible to look at Enzo Maresca’s incendiary remarks about his “worst 48 hours” at Chelsea through a different lens. Change is coming at Manchester City, who are preparing for Pep Guardiola’s departure at the end of the season, and it does not require much reading between the lines to work out their decision to pass the crown to Maresca was made a long time ago.

There never was a clear explanation from the Italian after he sat in front of the media after Chelsea’s unspectacular 2-0 win over Everton on 13 December and surprised the room by taking the extraordinary step of going to war with his employers. “Since I joined the club, the last 48 hours have been the worst because many people didn’t support us,” he said. “People didn’t support me and the team.”

Which people? Maresca never said and Chelsea were perplexed. The situation deteriorated over the next fortnight and it was hard not to feel Maresca was behaving like a man who wanted to be sacked. Chelsea, though, refused to pull the trigger. It was only when Maresca went into the manager’s office at Stamford Bridge after a 2-2 draw with Bournemouth on 30 December and told his bosses he did not want to conduct his post-match duties that it became clear there was no putting the genie back in the bottle.

Sources familiar with that episode say that was the moment Maresca in effect handed in his resignation. He was gone two days later, the club statement landing early on New Year’s Day. Chelsea, unsurprisingly, have not moved on from Maresca informing them he had twice spoken to City while under contract.

This was not a fond farewell. Maresca walked away without his severance, with three and a half years on his deal. Sources close to the former Leicester manager have acknowledged Chelsea are entitled to demand a sizeable compensation package for City to acquire his services.

There were claims of Maresca clashing with Chelsea’s medical department over how much certain players could be used and suggestions the 46-year-old was dissatisfied with the club’s project. But those talks with City have relevance. The heir to the throne was hiding in plain sight. Maresca was top of City’s shortlist and it seems unlikely the two parties sat down to discuss the particulars of a three-year deal only after news of Guardiola stepping down at the end of the season broke on Monday night.

Chelsea feel Maresca’s departure wrecked their season. Maresca can probably take the barbs, though. He is about to land a top job. Replacing Guardiola is a thankless task, one comparable with taking over from Sir Alex Ferguson, Jürgen Klopp or Arsène Wenger, but Maresca has worked within the City machine and will believe the role is made for his skill set.

Guardiola has backed his former assistant. City know what they are getting from Maresca, part of their backroom staff when they won the treble in 2023. He favours positional play, uses inverted full-backs, sees the pitch as a chessboard and has even been nicknamed Diet Pep.

While Maresca is undoubtedly a quality tactician, his work at Chelsea and Leicester does leave room for debate. There were times when Leicester supporters grumbled about Maresca’s football, even though he led them to the Championship title in 2024, and concerns that his style of play was too dogmatic were never far from the surface at Chelsea.

The former Sevilla midfielder, who played for Carlo Ancelotti at Juventus, moved to Stamford Bridge after Mauricio Pochettino’s departure in May 2024. Chelsea wanted to play with more control and Maresca’s first season was a qualified success. They squeezed into the Champions League and beat Real Betis in the Conference League final.

The crowning moment came when Maresca bamboozled Paris Saint-Germain in the Club World Cup final last summer. It was a fine achievement and showed his ability to come up with clever plans for one-off games. Winning the Premier League, though, requires greater consistency and Chelsea had a prolonged dip during his first season and sometimes struggled to break down low blocks.

It would be pushing it to say the home crowd loved his style of play. There was chuntering when Enzo Fernández passed backwards during a 1-0 win over Leicester in March 2025. Maresca, though, was unmoved. “Enzo knows if he doesn’t play back, I will change him,” he said. “If the goalkeeper plays long, I will change him.”

That stance led to tension. Maresca even blamed supporters when Chelsea panicked and went long before conceding a goal during a 2-2 draw with Ipswich. Intriguingly, though, he adapted against PSG. He caught the European champions out by telling his goalkeeper, Robert Sánchez, to send long balls over their left-back, Nuno Mendes.

Flexibility is important. Guardiola has played with less control this season. He has the directness of Antoine Semenyo and Jérémy Doku on the wings and the improvisation of Rayan Cherki in the middle. In Gianluigi Donnarumma, he has signed a goalkeeper whose wondrous shot-stopping more than makes up for his lack of skill with the ball at his feet. Maresca will surely play to Donnarumma’s strengths and not force the Italian out of his comfort zone.

Chelsea felt Maresca sometimes overthought games and put too much pressure on himself. He often appeared cold in public and was not particularly open with the media, although it is worth noting players tend to love him. He was close with Chelsea’s Spanish contingent and had a bond with Jack Grealish during his first spell at City.

Perhaps the key for Maresca is that he will have access to better players. He did not have a top striker at Chelsea, but at City will be able to rely on Erling Haaland. The trials and tribulations of those 48 hours must feel worthwhile now.