Manchester City have appointed Enzo Maresca as their new manager, with the Italian signing a three-year contract to succeed Pep Guardiola at the Etihad Stadium. The 46-year-old returns to the club for a third season.
City will pay Chelsea more than £17m (€20m) in compensation to secure Maresca, who left Stamford Bridge on New Year’s Day, it has been reported. Sky in Italy.
He had three and a half years left on his contract.
The appointment brings to an end one of the biggest managerial searches in the club’s modern history, with Maresca tasked with following Guardiola’s trophy-laden decade-long reign that ended at the close of the 2025/26 season.
Maresca is well known to City after two previous spells, having coached the Elite Development Squad to the Premier League 2 title in 2020/21 before serving as Guardiola’s assistant during the historic 2022/23 treble campaign.
“Manchester City is a club I know very well and to have the opportunity to manage this team is a brilliant opportunity for me,” Maresca said in a statement. “This will be my third spell here.
I know this club, I know the demands and I know the expectations.”
The city’s chief executive, Ferran Soriano, described Italian as the obvious choice. “Enzo was the most prominent candidate in our considerations,” Soriano said. “We know his personality and his vision of how football should be played.
He is a man of integrity, charisma and passion.”
At exactly the same time as City confirmed the appointment, Chelsea released a strong statement explaining their reasoning for seeking compensation, claiming that Maresca was approached about the City job in the autumn of 2025 and that it had a negative impact on their season.
Maresca’s 18 months in west London still produced silverware, with the Italian leading Chelsea to the UEFA Conference League and the Club World Cup before leaving by mutual consent in January following a rift with the club’s management.
Guardiola leaves a daunting legacy, having delivered every major trophy during his reign, although City missed out on the Premier League title to Arsenal last season and finished as runners-up despite a domestic cup double.
Maresca will immediately play a central role in the summer window, with England midfielder Elliot Anderson set to become his first signing in a club-record deal with Nottingham Forest once he returns from the World Cup.
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