Enzo Maresca named Man City boss after ‘£17m Chelsea battle’ and Pep Guardiola warning

Manchester City have finally confirmed the appointment of former coach Enzo Maresca as Pep Guardiola’s successor as the ex-Chelsea boss returns to the Etihad Stadium

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Manchester City have finally confirmed the appointment of Enzo Maresca as Pep Guardiola’s successor.

Guardiola took charge of his final City game in May in a 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa to round off the 2025/26 Premier League season. But the result was secondary on the day as the Spaniard’s trophy-laden 10 years as City boss was celebrated before and after the game.

His successor was widely reported to be his former coach and ex-Chelsea boss Maresca, but the Italian’s appointment has been delayed for over a month despite it looking a certainty that he would succeed his former boss. The decision has finally now been announced by the club.

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Speaking to the club after his appointment was confirmed, Maresca said: “Manchester City is a club I know very well and to have the chance to manage this team is a brilliant opportunity for me.

“City is an incredibly well-run football club. Everything they do is innovative, planned and purposeful. For a manager, that is a dream situation. It provides the consistency I need to do my job effectively.

“This will be my third spell here. I know this Club, I know the demands and I know the expectations. The quality of the people who work here is what makes it so special, and I want to thank them for showing faith in my ability.

“I cannot wait to start coaching the players. I want us to win, play good football and enjoy the pressure of representing Manchester City.”

Maresca left Chelsea at the start of the year but the Blues have released a statement of their own revealing the reason behind his Stamford Bridge exit and announced both City and Maresca, although he wasn’t named in the statement, will pay the club compensation. It’s reported that City have paid Chelsea £17million in compensation.

It read: “Chelsea FC appreciates the 2025/26 season was a hugely disappointing one for the Club and its supporters. 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.”

Maresca also issued a statement of his own apologising to Chelsea and stating his reasons for walking out the door. He said: “At the end of December 2025, I made the difficult decision to leave Chelsea.

“The decision was only mine. My resignation from Chelsea opened a path for me to join Manchester City, which is a club I knew very well. I am ecstatic that I have now joined Manchester City.

“I recognise that my departure from Chelsea in the middle of the season caused disruption for the club and I apologise for that. It was neither my intention nor my wish.

“I was treated well by everyone at Chelsea and together we achieved great success and memories that I will always treasure. I am grateful to the club, the owners and the fans for giving me the opportunity.”

Maresca first joined the Citizens in August 2020 as the manager of the club’s Elite Development Squad following a brief spell as one of Manuel Pellegrini’s assistant managers at West Ham. The Italian won the Premier League 2 title in his only season in charge of the team before departing to take charge of Parma in Serie B.

He returned to the Etihad two years later as one of Guardiola’s assistants as City landed the treble in his only season back at the club before he was named Leicester City boss.

After guiding the Foxes to the Premier League in his first season, Maresca was snapped up by Chelsea and led the Blues to a fourth place finish and the Conference League title before winning the FIFA Club World Cup a few weeks later. However, he was sacked in January after a public and bitter falling out with the board.

Speaking after his final game in charge, Guardiola sent a message directly to his successor as he urged the new boss not to attempt to replicate him.

Guardiola said: “Be yourself. The club will support you unconditionally and that is the biggest compliment and the biggest luck that all managers here have Txiki [Begiristain], now Hugo [Viana] and Ferran [Soriano] and especially the work of Khaldoon [Al Mubarak].

“Be yourself. You will be protected in the bad moments more than any other club. Be free with your ideas, work a lot and everything will be fine.”