Rico Lewis says it’s good to have Enzo Maresca back at City.
The Italian coach worked with our Academy graduate in his previous stint with the club during our historic 2022/23 campaign.
Back then, Maresca was one of Pep Guardiola’s assistants while Lewis was making his mark in his first year of senior football.
Still only 21, the Radcliffe-born Lewis has already played 116 times for City and helped us to nine major honours.
Now he’s looking to the future with Maresca as the main man in charge.
“When he was with us in the Treble season, most of the time after sessions he would take me do individual sessions which I really appreciated,” he said.
“We had a good relationship but it wasn’t too long because he was only there for that season. It’s good to have him back.
Video Player is loading.Play VideoPlaySkip backward 5 secondsSkip forward 10 secondsMuteCurrent Time 0:00/Duration 0:00Loaded: 0%Stream Type LIVESeek to live, currently behind liveLIVERemaining Time -0:001xPlayback RateChapters
Chapters
Descriptions
descriptions off, selected
Captions
captions settings, opens captions settings dialog
captions off, selected
Audio TrackPicture-in-PictureFullscreenCast to Chromecast
This is a modal window.
This video is restricted from playing on your current domain
Error Code: PLAYER_ERR_DOMAIN_RESTRICTED Session ID: 2026-08-03:70e545383e8a7e4e87529074Player Element ID: js-premium-player-105a5fc6-e085-465c-9010-0228c04d9712 OK Close Modal Dialog
Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window.
TextColorWhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyanOpacityOpaqueSemi-TransparentText BackgroundColorBlackWhiteRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyanOpacityOpaqueSemi-TransparentTransparentCaption Area BackgroundColorBlackWhiteRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyanOpacityTransparentSemi-TransparentOpaqueFont Size50%75%100%125%150%175%200%300%400%Text Edge StyleNoneRaisedDepressedUniformDrop shadowFont FamilyProportional Sans-SerifMonospace Sans-SerifProportional SerifMonospace SerifCasualScriptSmall CapsResetDoneClose Modal Dialog
End of dialog window.
Close Modal Dialog
This is a modal window. This modal can be closed by pressing the Escape key or activating the close button.
“It’s been good so far and everything is positive. There’s a clear idea about how we want to play.
“Everyone knows where they need to be and what they need to do, which is the important thing.
“We’re grasping the ideas and the more we do that the better we’ll become as a team.”
Lewis has been used at both full-back and in midfield during his fledgling career so far, with Guardiola often praising his ability in tight spaces, eye for a pass and tenacity.
He was one of just two players to complete the full 90 minutes in Saturday’s pre-season opener with Inter.
Having started in defence, he moved into midfield in the second period as the side was changed around him.
No matter where on the pitch he’s selected, Lewis just wants to do his bit for the team.
“We’ve not spoken about the position I’ll play yet but I played full-back and midfield the other day [against Inter], so that gives me an idea of what he’s thinking,” he said.
“I will speak to him but I just want to play. That’s the main thing for me, I just want to be playing football and helping the team.”
Video Player is loading.Play VideoPlaySkip backward 5 secondsSkip forward 10 secondsMuteCurrent Time 0:00/Duration 0:00Loaded: 0%Stream Type LIVESeek to live, currently behind liveLIVERemaining Time -0:001xPlayback RateChapters
Chapters
Descriptions
descriptions off, selected
Captions
captions settings, opens captions settings dialog
captions off, selected
Audio TrackPicture-in-PictureFullscreenCast to Chromecast
This is a modal window.
This video is restricted from playing on your current domain
Error Code: PLAYER_ERR_DOMAIN_RESTRICTED Session ID: 2026-08-03:7cc01ba726e98195a68d86aPlayer Element ID: js-premium-player-6907d707-296b-4e5d-838f-492e336af11d OK Close Modal Dialog
Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window.
TextColorWhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyanOpacityOpaqueSemi-TransparentText BackgroundColorBlackWhiteRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyanOpacityOpaqueSemi-TransparentTransparentCaption Area BackgroundColorBlackWhiteRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyanOpacityTransparentSemi-TransparentOpaqueFont Size50%75%100%125%150%175%200%300%400%Text Edge StyleNoneRaisedDepressedUniformDrop shadowFont FamilyProportional Sans-SerifMonospace Sans-SerifProportional SerifMonospace SerifCasualScriptSmall CapsResetDoneClose Modal Dialog
End of dialog window.
Close Modal Dialog
This is a modal window. This modal can be closed by pressing the Escape key or activating the close button.
As he proved by getting through the full game on Saturday, Lewis insists he’s doing everything he can to arrive at the start of the campaign at full tilt.
“I didn’t feel too bad after the game and I was surprised because I didn’t think I’d be able to play 90 minutes,” he said.
“I worked hard and did some training in summer and I feel like that paid off and hopefully will have me in good shape.”
Watch our 2026 tour games on CITY+!
Subscribe to CITY+ now to see all three of City’s games during our 2026 pre-season tour of Asia.
After Saturday’s meeting with Inter, we’ll now head to Seoul to play a K League All-Stars side on Wednesday 5 August and then Atletico Madrid on Sunday 9 August. Both games begin at 12:00 (UK).
Each game will be available to watch on mancity.com and our official app for current CITY+ subscribers globally*.
Available for £34.99 annually or £9.99 per month, or unlock CITY+ as part of Premium Membership (£65/year), which brings together the best of City, in one membership.
* K-League All Stars v City: Globally available except South Korea
City v Atletico Madrid: Globally available except South Korea, Spain