Manchester City is almost done paying Chelsea to let their new manager actually start working. It’s been a mess of a situation, but according to Matt Hughes at The Guardian, the two clubs are close to a financial settlement that would officially make Enzo Maresca Pep Guardiola’s successor.
The Italian coach agreed to a three-year deal with City back in May. But he hasn’t been formally introduced yet because Chelsea is demanding around £10 million — that’s over $12 million — in compensation. Their argument? Maresca allegedly talked to City while he was still technically under contract, which they say violated his deal.
Maresca left Chelsea on New Year’s Day, but the club’s lawyers have been insisting the former manager breached terms by holding unauthorized discussions. So for weeks, City’s legal team and Chelsea’s lawyers have been hammering out a settlement. The result, per the report, is likely to be an amicable agreement worth more than £10 million to Chelsea. Both clubs have a decent working relationship, so nobody expects this to get ugly.
Why This Delay Actually Matters
This isn’t just paperwork drama. City’s pre-season starts in mid-July, and currently they don’t have a manager on site. Maresca is reportedly eager to get to work at the Etihad, but he’s stuck watching from the sideline while lawyers sort out the numbers.
The timing is especially tricky because City has a ton of players at the World Cup in North America right now. That buys them a little bit of time, but not much. Maresca’s first real task once he’s officially cleared will be piecing together a new midfield. The club is pushing hard to finalize a British-record transfer for Nottingham Forest’s Elliot Anderson, a 23-year-old England international who’s expected to do his medical in the U.S. during the World Cup. Sporting Director Hugo Viana is working on the paperwork to lock that down before pre-season starts.
Maresca isn’t exactly a random hire. He coached City’s Elite Development Squad and served as Guardiola’s first-team assistant during the 2022/23 Treble season. The club sees him as a continuation of the same philosophy, not a clean break. Jamie Vardy recently called him a “clone” of Guardiola, which is probably oversimplifying it but gets at why City wanted him so badly.
One thing that’s already set: Maresca’s competitive home debut will be Sunday, August 23, against Bournemouth at the Etihad. That game kicks off at 2 p.m. UK time on Sky Sports. By then, the hope is he’ll have been in charge for weeks, not just days.
For now, it’s a waiting game. City has a manager in waiting, Chelsea has a check in the mail, and the only thing standing between Maresca and the job is a final handshake between lawyers.
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