Chelsea issue strongly worded public statement criticising new Manchester City manager Enzo Maresca

Enzo Maresca's appointment as Manchester City's new manager has sparked an extraordinary response from Chelsea, with the London club publicly expressing its disappointment over the Italian's departure.

Maresca, who has signed a three-year deal with City, returns to the club where he previously worked under Pep Guardiola after spending just one season at Stamford Bridge.

The 46-year-old had reportedly made it clear to Chelsea last year that he was interested in succeeding Guardiola at Manchester City. However, his eventual move became the subject of a dispute, with reports suggesting that talks with City while he was still under contract at Chelsea breached the terms of his agreement. Manchester City eventually agreed to pay compensation, believed to be around £17 million, to secure Maresca's services.In a strongly-worded statement released following Maresca's appointment, Chelsea blamed the disruption caused by the manager's departure for their disappointing 2025-26 season."Chelsea FC appreciates the 2025/26 season was a hugely disappointing one for the Club and its supporters," the club stated.

"A major contributing factor was the disruption caused as a result of changes that the Club was forced to make to the Head Coach position over the Christmas period."The club claimed it became evident that Maresca was determined to move to Manchester City despite being under a long-term contract at Chelsea."It became clear to us that it was his strong desire to succeed Guardiola and that he was fully committed to pursuing the opportunity, despite the fact he was under a long-term contract which he had no right to terminate," it added.Chelsea also revealed that Maresca resigned unexpectedly midway through the season, leaving the club with little choice but to accept his departure."In December 2025, our Head Coach unexpectedly and abruptly resigned from his position. Obviously, we felt let down as we believed that his head and heart were focused on another club and another opportunity," it further noted.The club confirmed that confidential compensation agreements had been reached with both Manchester City and Maresca, while expressing confidence in new manager Xabi Alonso ahead of next season.