Manchester City have secured Enzo Maresca as their new manager, replacing Pep Guardiola after the Catalan's decade-long tenure. The Italian's appointment follows a complex negotiation process that cost City approximately £17 million to settle his contract with Chelsea, where he had been in charge for less than a full season.
Interest and Negotiations
City initially contacted Maresca towards the end of 2025, but those early discussions were exploratory. City have made similar 'check-calls' over the years, but they always proved irrelevant because Guardiola chose to stay. However, this time Guardiola decided to leave, triggering a concrete offer that Maresca accepted without hesitation, despite detailed talks with AC Milan.
Maresca's contract with Chelsea included a clause requiring him to inform the club of enquiries from City and Juventus. He used this opportunity to negotiate a new deal at Stamford Bridge, having won two trophies in his first season. Instead, he left on New Year's Day in a messy exit that took City a month to resolve.
Maresca's Journey to the Etihad
Maresca first impressed City when he joined as Under-21s coach in 2020, relocating from the Amalfi Coast during the pandemic. His work winning trophies with entertaining football and developing young talent caught the attention of Guardiola and sporting director Txiki Begiristain. After a short-lived stint at Parma in Serie B, he returned to join Guardiola's first-team staff for the 2022/23 Treble-winning season, where he earned respect from players and hierarchy alike.
His subsequent managerial roles at Leicester City and Chelsea further enhanced his reputation. At Leicester, he secured promotion from the Championship at the first attempt, with Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall praising his 'relentless' tactical coaching. At Chelsea, Enzo Fernandez and Marc Cucurella publicly defended him after his exit.
Succession Planning
City's succession planning has been ongoing for years, guided by the principle that the club's structure must outlast any single manager. A senior City official noted: 'The challenge will be can the system flex to the next coach and can the coach flex to the system and do they meet in the middle? That means we need to recruit a coach that is prepared to flex a bit, and not somebody who is coming in doing it their way and there is no other way.'
Maresca is seen as one of the few coaches capable of adapting to City's system. Guardiola, Begiristain, CEO Ferran Soriano, incoming sporting director Hugo Viana, chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak, and many top players all support his appointment. The 45-year-old, a chess enthusiast, is now tasked with succeeding Guardiola in what many consider the hardest job in elite football.
