Chelsea have criticized Enzo Maresca after confirming his appointment as Manchester City’s new manager, refusing to refer to their former coach by name in a statement revealing he would pay them compensation.
City announced Maresca as Pep Guardiola’s successor on Monday, with the Italian taking the reins at the club having previously worked as coach of City’s elite development squad and as Guardiola’s assistant.
Maresca’s resignation as Chelsea manager was confirmed on New Year’s Day amid an apparent deterioration in his relationship with the hierarchy at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea were fifth in the Premier League at the time of his departure, but finished the season in a disappointing 10th place, with his successor Liam Rosengour lasting just over three months in charge.
The Blues have appointed Xabi Alonso as their new manager on a contract that officially begins on Wednesday.
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City are set to pay Chelsea more than £17m in compensation for Maresca, with the Blues retaining compensation rights to the 46-year-old.
Maresca, who won a Conference League title and a Club World Cup during his time with Chelsea, also agreed to pay his former club to allow him to follow in his mentor’s footsteps at the Etihad Stadium.
Despite reaching an agreement on these issues, Chelsea strongly criticized Maresca and his behavior in leaving the club.
Their statement Read: “Chelsea FC appreciates that the 2025/26 season has been an extremely disappointing one for the club and its supporters. A major contributing factor to this was the disruption caused by the changes the club was forced to make to the head coaching position over the Christmas period. Given recent developments, we consider it important to explain to our supporters what happened and why our former coach left the club on 1 January 2026.”
“In the autumn of last year, our former coach informed the club that there might be an opportunity for him to succeed Pep Guardiola at the end of the season. It became clear to us that this was his strong desire to succeed Guardiola and that he was fully committed to pursuing this opportunity, even though he was under a long-term contract and had no right to terminate it.”
“In December 2025, our manager unexpectedly and suddenly resigned from his position. We were obviously frustrated because we thought his head and heart were focused on another club and another opportunity, even though we had just arrived at Chelsea the year before.
“No club wants to change their head coach mid-season. However, in light of his decision not to continue to fulfill his responsibilities until the end of the season, the club had no choice but to protect our players, supporters and the badge and accept his resignation.”
“In these circumstances, and given the mutual respect between the clubs, a confidential settlement has been reached with Manchester City, which includes the payment of compensation. A confidential settlement has also been reached with the former head coach, according to which compensation will be paid.”
“Looking forward to next season, in Xabi Alonso, we have a manager with an exceptional football mentality and a professional of the highest integrity. He has all the qualities necessary to achieve the success that the club’s fans deserve and expect.”
