Manchester City have been without a manager for almost a full month since Pep Guardiola elected to quit his role at the Etihad Stadium, with Enzo Maresca, his chosen successor, not yet appointed
Enzo Maresca is the man Manchester City have chosen to succeed Pep Guardiola
Enzo Maresca is the man Manchester City have chosen to succeed Pep Guardiola(Image: 2025 Robin Jones)
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Manchester City are close to reaching a financial settlement with Chelsea that will enable them to finally appoint Enzo Maresca as their new manager.
It’s no secret that Maresca has been City’s top choice to replace Pep Guardiola for some time, and with the Italian having been out of work since his Stamford Bridge exit on New Year’s Day, it had appeared a formality that he would be appointed before now. However, almost a month after Guardiola brought the curtain down on his dominant decade at the Etihad, City are still without a manager.
That’s because Chelsea have been demanding compensation to allow Maresca to move to the Etihad, with lawyers for both clubs having been in ongoing negotiations, trying to thrash out a deal that works for all parties and would allow Maresca to finally take up position in Manchester.
Maresca quit Chelsea with three and a half years left on his contract and had informed Chelsea officials last autumn that he had held talks with City about the prospect of succeeding Guardiola. At that time, Guardiola had not decided when he was going to leave City.
As such, Chelsea have been demanding payment, believing they have evidence that the Italian breached his contract by talking to the club’s Premier League rival.
They want compensation for the loss of a manager who led them to Club World Cup and Europa Conference League glory the previous season, and whose departure ultimately led to a horrendous second half to last term, as they finished 10th and missed out on Europe.
There are suggestions that they could in fact report City to the Premier League for tapping up Maresca, but have no plans to do so given the clubs share a largely harmonious relationship at boardroom level.
City do not return for pre-season training until the middle of next month, giving them plenty of time to resolve the issue.
But it’s understood they are getting close to a financial settlement, which, as first reported by the Guardian, is believed to be in the £10m range and which is likely to be resolved sooner rather than later.
Chelsea paid Leicester City £8m in 2024 to take Maresca from the Foxes, after he had led them to promotion from the Championship.