Chelsea are shaping up for a legal battle with Manchester City over their putative appointment of Enzo Maresca, who left Stamford Bridge in contested circumstances at the start of the year.
With Pep Guardiola expected to leave City after a decade in charge, the first choice to replace him is the Italian who departed Chelsea abruptly earlier this season. Although the terms of that split have never been commented on publicly by either side, the allegation that Maresca had told Chelsea’s ownership that he was in talks with City has not been disputed.
The expectation is that Chelsea will seek compensation from City, with the added threat of disclosure about the terms of Maresca’s departure from Stamford Bridge, and the events in the months leading up to it. Neither club have commented on the situation.
For any action to be brought against City it is understood that a complaint would have to be made by Chelsea to the Premier League, which would then be obliged to investigate under the terms of its own rules.
It is expected that the legal case Chelsea have in that regard will unfold when, as expected, Maresca is appointed by City. That announcement may take some time given the significance of Guardiola’s departure. Maresca, 46, has said nothing in public since his Chelsea departure at a time when the club were fifth. Although Chelsea have not confirmed, it is understood that there was no major compensation payout to the Italian.
Chelsea had started to fall away this season in the final weeks leading up to Maresca’s sacking on January 2. The team were on a run of just one win in seven Premier League games and there were suggestions from inside the club that all was not well. By the end, his position was considered untenable by the club.
It culminated in him skipping post-match media duties following a draw with Bournemouth. Before that run of poor results, Chelsea had been in second place in the Premier League and there remains considerable disquiet at the club that the Maresca departure undermined their season. The arrival of Liam Rosenior as Maresca’s successor did not work out as Chelsea would have wished and the club is currently on its fourth managerial appointment of the season.
City have been obliged to plan at different points over recent years when it looked like Guardiola might be wavering in his future. There have been times in the past when they have looked closely at lining up another assistant of his, Mikel Arteta, the Arsenal manager currently in pole position to win the Premier League this season.
Maresca is well-known to City Football Group, having been part of the City staff on two occasions – one year in charge of the club’s Under-23s in 2020-2021 and then as a first-team assistant to Guardiola in the 2022-2023 season.
He was appointed by Chelsea as the Championship-winning manager of Leicester City in the summer of 2024. He won the Uefa Conference League in his first season and then the Fifa Club World Cup, having studiously avoided any controversy. The relationship with Chelsea broke down in a relatively short space of time. After the win over Everton on December 13, Maresca said that he had experienced “the worst 48 hours” of his career – interpreted as a direct attack on Chelsea and its BlueCo ownership.
That was later understood to be around the issue of return to play for injured players. Nevertheless, it was interpreted on some sides as deliberately provocative.
Without a win in their last seven Premier League games, Chelsea play Tottenham Hotspur at home on Tuesday night currently out of the European places in 10th position. The club have appointed Xabi Alonso and his coaching team to take over in the summer. City play Bournemouth when only a win will keep the title race alive.
