Maresca is your new manager
It is official. Enzo Maresca is the new Manchester City head coach on a three-year deal, succeeding Pep Guardiola (1) (3) (6). The announcement came Monday.
"Manchester City is a club I know very well and to have the chance to manage this team is a brilliant opportunity for me," Maresca told the club website (1).
City acknowledged the mid-season disruption to Chelsea in their statement, confirming talks took place across autumn and winter of 2025 (3).
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Chelsea hit back hard
Chelsea did not take it quietly. In a scathing statement, the club refused to even name Maresca, confirming he will personally pay them compensation on top of the £17m fee City are sending their way (2) (5) (8) (9).
Multiple outlets describe Chelsea's language as unusually sharp. Maresca has publicly apologised for what Chelsea called an "unexpected" exit (5).
Fan-reaktioner
The mood on reddit is split between anticipation and gallows humour. One Chelsea fan posted the official statement along with the note: "Time for a certain someone to eat a shoe now" (4). Across both r/soccer and r/chelseafc, the £17m compensation figure is the headline grabber, with fans dissecting whether City got value on a managerial hire that also required Maresca to reach into his own pocket (1) (2).
