Nizaar Kinsella
BBC Sport Chelsea reporter

Everyone at Chelsea respects the quality of Enzo Maresca’s management, but his departure ultimately ended in fraught circumstances.

His decision to resign — which he has now admitted “opened a path” for him to join Manchester City — proved damaging to Chelsea’s season. It contributed to a chaotic campaign in which they finished 10th, sacked another manager and cost the club millions in lost television revenue.

It led to a prolonged legal dispute that has only recently been resolved, allowing all parties to draw a line under the matter.

For Chelsea, Maresca's first season will still be remembered as their most successful under Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital. They qualified for the Champions League for the only time in four years since acquiring the club from Roman Abramovich, and won their first silverware in the Club World Cup and the Conference League.

City, meanwhile, have secured Chelsea’s most highly regarded manager since Thomas Tuchel — one who also has the backing of Pep Guardiola, having previously served as his assistant during a treble-winning campaign.

And here is Enzo Maresca's record at Chelsea in in all competitions...

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The results of that style of play?

This is how Enzo Maresca fared in the Premier League during his 18 months at Chelsea.

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Mohamed Moallim
BBC Sport

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Enzo Maresca is often associated with possession football, but Chelsea were actually the Premier League’s most direct side during his only full season in charge (2024-25).

The Blues recorded a league-high 173 direct attacks, while also ranking second for expected goals (69.18), shots on target (218), big chances created (93) and shots from counter-attacks (51).

Those numbers suggest Maresca’s Chelsea were just as capable of attacking quickly in transition as they were of controlling games.

Despite the comparisons, Enzo Maresca's teams under his management were not a simple copy and paste of Manchester City under Pep Guardiola...

Since flying the Etihad nest, Enzo Maresca has started three seasons of management in England - at Leicester City and then Chelsea.

Here are the league positions of Maresca's sides, either at the end of each season or when he left:

2023-24: Leicester City - 1st in Championship

2024-25: Chelsea - 4th in Premier League

2025-26: Chelsea - 5th in Premier League (left the club after Matchday 19)

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Mohamed Moallim
BBC Sport

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Enzo Maresca spent two seasons as Pep Guardiola’s assistant at Manchester City, playing a key role in the club’s Treble-winning campaign of 2022-23.

Former City academy coach Brian Barry-Murphy later told Sky Sports that Maresca was “very similar to Pep”, describing him as an active presence on the training pitch whose coaching quickly earned the respect of the players.

Club footage from City’s Champions League final victory over Inter Milan also showed Guardiola and Maresca discussing tactical adjustments together at half-time, highlighting the Italian’s involvement in preparing one of the biggest matches in the club’s history.

Only Ruben Dias, Nathan Ake, Rico Lewis, Rodri, Phil Foden and Erling Haaland remain from the Treble-winning squad Maresca worked alongside before leaving to become Leicester City manager.

For some of those players returning to the Etihad campus, it will give them the chance to speak with the new Manchester City manager for the first time.

For a handful of others, it will be more of a reunion - Enzo Maresca was Pep Guardiola's assistant coach at Manchester City between June 2022 and 2023, when they won the Treble.

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Shamoon Hafez
Manchester City reporter

Manchester City players are enjoying some down time in the off-season and are not scheduled to return for pre-season until 20 July.

The club and new manager Enzo Maresca fly to Hong Kong the following week where they will play Inter Milan in a friendly on Saturday, 1 August.

They then head to Seoul in South Korea where they have two further friendlies planned against the K-League All Stars on 5 August and Atletico Madrid four days later.

City play Arsenal in the Community Shield on Sunday, 16 August at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff.

Now Enzo Maresca is finally in position at Manchester City, what will the next month or so hold?

Sure Enzo Maresca would take Arne Slot's first-season bounce, at least.

Aside from working closely with Pep Guardiola, Maresca has played for some big-name managers.

Most notably, he played under current Brazil manager Carlo Ancelotti and former Italy coach Marcelo Lippi at Juventus.

Maresca also played for former Man City boss Manuel Pellegrini at Malaga, who was, and still is, in charge of Real Betis - the team Maresca's Chelsea beat in the Conference League final.

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Shamoon Hafez
Manchester City reporter

During his final pre-match news conference last month, then Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola was asked to give some words of advice to his successor.

"Be themselves," said the Spaniard. "A manager has to be himself. Unique.

"The club will be there to support him unconditionally. Like they have done it to me, they will do it to him and his staff."

Gary Neville
Former Manchester United defender on Sky Sports News

If he [Enzo Maresca] can get the buy-in from the squad, he's got a really good chance of doing something. I don't think Pep's left him with an ageing team, I think he's left him with a young team with plenty to go at.

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BBC Sport asked Manchester City fans how they felt about the appointment of Enzo Maresca as the club's new manager.

Manchester City

Enzo Maresca has long been regarded by the club as a candidate within our succession planning. As a former successful coach within our system, Enzo has a strong relationship with the Club’s leadership and he understands how we work and evolve.

We can confirm that confidential conversations took place between select representatives of City and Enzo Maresca in Autumn and Winter of 2025, while he was Chelsea FC’s Head Coach, regarding the possibility of him returning to City in a transitional leadership coaching capacity should Pep Guardiola decide to leave.

We acknowledge Chelsea’s statement regarding the context of Enzo’s departure from Chelsea. We also acknowledge the context in which permission for discussions was given, and we recognize that his departure mid-season was disruptive to Chelsea’s season.

Once terms were agreed with Enzo Maresca, Manchester City and Chelsea FC reached a mutually agreed settlement under which Chelsea FC will receive compensation.