Marc Cucurella has publicly criticised Chelsea’s decision to fire former manager Enzo Maresca in January, saying it was a move he would never have allowed if he had a choice in the matter. The Italian coach and the club’s management agreed to part ways on January 1, 2026, following a breakdown in their relationship.
The 27-year-old left-back told The Athletic in an exclusive interview while he was playing on international duty with Spain that Maresca was the most important of the six permanent managers he has worked with at Chelsea. During his 18 months in charge, Maresca led the Blues to both the Conference League and the Club World Cup. However, he left because he and the club couldn’t agree on their long-term goals.
Cucurella said that Chelsea shouldn’t have changed managers in the middle of the season because the players are having a hard time getting used to Liam Rosenior’s tactical instructions while the schedule is full and there isn’t much time for training.
“The moment Maresca left, it had a big impact on us. These are decisions taken by the club. If you asked me, I would not have made this decision. To make a change like that, the best thing is to wait until the end of the season.”
“The instability around the club comes from this, in a nutshell. We had a caretaker first, then a new manager, with new ideas and no time to work on them. It is what it is.”
Chelsea are now sixth in the Premier League and out of the Champions League after losing to PSG in the last 16 by a record-tying 8-2 aggregate score. Rosenior’s team have only won four of their last 12 games and lost six, which has made things at Stamford Bridge less fun.
Cucurella was careful to praise Rosenior, calling him a very good person who has done a good job with the group, even though he was frustrated. The Spaniard, on the other hand, said that insufficient training time was a major problem with the new system.
Cucurella Also Questions Chelsea’s Transfer Strategy
Cucurella didn’t just talk about the changes in management; he also criticised the club’s transfer policy under the BlueCo ownership group. Since Todd Boehly and the Clearlake Capital group bought Chelsea in 2022, the club have focused on signing young players who can be trained and sold for a profit.
Cucurella says that not having enough experience was a big reason why they lost to PSG so badly. He said that many of his teammates were playing a game at that level for the first time.
“We have a good core of players. The foundations are there. But to fight for major trophies such as the Premier League or the Champions League, you need more. Signing young players only might complicate achieving those goals.”
Chelsea are likely to keep going after talented young players this summer. They have already agreed to deals for Geovany Quenda, Emmanuel Emegha, Dastan Satpaev, and Denner. As they prepare for the final stretch of the campaign, it is unclear whether the club will heed Cucurella’s call for greater balance between young and old players.