Maresca Set to Succeed Guardiola at Manchester City After Nine-Year Era
Manchester City's biggest uncertainty of the season may have been quietly resolved before the final whistle. The BBC reports that the club is preparing to part ways with Pep Guardiola at the end of the campaign and turn to Enzo Maresca, the former Chelsea head coach and one of Guardiola's own protégés. According to the report, the deal between the two camps is at an advanced stage.
Since arriving in June 2016, Guardiola has delivered six Premier League titles, two FA Cups and the club's first Champions League trophy in 2023. A seventh league title remains in his hands going into the final weekend, with City facing Bournemouth at the Etihad while Arsenal lurk on the same points total — a finale that may go to the last whistle.
Maresca knows the building. He served as an assistant under Guardiola between 2020 and 2022 before moves to Parma and Leicester City, where he won the Championship title. A single season at Chelsea followed, with mixed results on the pitch but enough buy-in from Chelsea's recruitment department to entrench his reputation as a coach of patient possession football, full-backs inverting into midfield, and high defensive lines.
Football director Hugo Viana has been in contact with Maresca since November, the BBC notes. A three-year contract has been discussed, financial terms agreed in principle, and a formal announcement is being held until after the season's final fixture. City declined to comment on the report.
Guardiola's exit comes in the same week the Premier League's independent commission is expected to deliver its verdict on the 115 charges of alleged financial breaches faced by the club. People close to the manager say the decision is unrelated to that ruling; he has reportedly told confidants that nine seasons at the same club is a natural cycle.
The departure follows former captain Vincent Kompany's appointment at Bayern Munich and is the second major managerial change at the top of the English game in eighteen months, after Liverpool's transition from Jürgen Klopp to Arne Slot. Unlike Liverpool, however, City have chosen a coach who has previously worked inside the building.
Maresca's Chelsea year drew both supporters and sceptics. He guided a young squad to the UEFA Conference League title, though the Premier League finish disappointed. Chelsea did not block the BBC-reported pre-agreement; his release clause is understood to be around £12 million.
On the squad side, this summer's window is expected to be evolutionary rather than revolutionary. Erling Haaland, Rodri and Phil Foden are reported to be staying, with Kevin De Bruyne's contract not being renewed. Maresca is expected to push for a deep-lying playmaker familiar from Italian football and reinforcement at centre-back.
The club's leadership has also lined up introductions between Maresca and the women's team coaching staff as well as City Football Group's academy heads. CFG's global structure forces alignment between sister clubs in New York and Melbourne, meaning the final negotiations will take place in Spain once the men's season is over.
Guardiola's next move has not been settled. People close to him have flagged an interest in international management — England has been mentioned, as has Brazil. Whatever comes next, his nine seasons at the Etihad will be remembered as one of the deepest structural transformations any single coach has delivered in the modern game.