Manchester City on Monday hired former Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca to lead the club into a new era after Pep Guardiola stepped down at the end of last season.
Maresca agreed a three-year contract with City after being forced to wait several weeks to seal his move to the Etihad Stadium.
‘Brilliant opportunity’
“Manchester City is a club I know very well and to have the chance to manage this team is a brilliant opportunity for me,” said Maresca, who previously coached Leicester in the Championship and Chelsea in the Premier League.
“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.”
The 46-year-old Maresca had been strongly linked with the City job once reports emerged of Guardiola’s potential exit.
But Maresca’s arrival in Manchester was held up by Chelsea’s demand for a reported £17 million compensation package for the Italian, who was still contracted to the Blues until 2029 when he departed in January.
Chelsea took the unusual step of issuing a statement, on the announcement of Maresca’s appointment, to explain he had informed them earlier in the season “there might be an opportunity for him to succeed Pep Guardiola at the end of the season”.
“In December 2025, our head coach unexpectedly and abruptly resigned from his position,” the club added.
“Obviously, we felt let down.”
Premier League glory
Maresca will be tasked with restoring City to the summit of English football after two years without the Premier League title.
He has experience of life at City after spending the 2022-23 season as one of Guardiola’s assistants, helping them win the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup treble.
The former Juventus and West Brom midfielder also coached City’s elite development squad to the ‘Premier League 2’ title in 2020-21.
Maresca added: “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.”
Detail orientated
Maresca is back in management after leaving Chelsea under a cloud on New Year’s Day.
His spell at Chelsea started promisingly as the Blues finished fourth in the Premier League and won the UEFA Conference League and Club World Cup in his first season.
The intensely driven and detail oriented Maresca had a good relationship with Chelsea players and Enzo Fernandez and Marc Cucurella, who has since joined Real Madrid, both expressed frustration at his departure.
Maresca, who joined Chelsea after leading Leicester to promotion from the Championship in 2023/24, is a disciple of Guardiola, using the Spaniard’s possession-based philosophy as the template for his own style of play.
Daunting task
Replicating Guardiola’s success will be a daunting task for Maresca, who will find a squad that had been significantly overhauled over the last 18 months as the club moved on from several of the pillars of their dynastic title-winning era.
After months of speculation over his future, Guardiola quit in May, bringing the curtain down on an iconic decade in charge of City.
He won the FA Cup and League Cup in his final season, but second-placed City finished seven points behind Premier League champions Arsenal.
It was the second successive year that City had failed to win the Premier League after Guardiola led them to the title in six of his first eight seasons in England.
No longer had the energy
The 55-year-old Spaniard, who lifted 17 major trophies with City, said he no longer had the energy to lead the club after 10 years in Manchester.
City hope Maresca can emulate Arsenal’s success with Mikel Arteta, another of Guardiola’s former assistants.
Maresca will look to make a big splash in the transfer market to herald his arrival.
City have reportedly agreed a club record deal with Nottingham Forest for England midfielder Elliot Anderson, whilst they are also reported to be chasing Bournemouth forward Eli Junior Kroupi.
By Garrin Lambley © Agence France-Presse