Report Manchester City buy Maresca out of Chelsea contract for €20m

Sky Sport Italia claim that Manchester City have agreed to pay Chelsea €20m to buy Italian coach Enzo Maresca out of his contract so he can replace Pep Guardiola.

It is no secret that Maresca was the first choice to take over from Guardiola, especially as he had been his assistant manager at the Etihad in the 2022-23 campaign.

Following that, there was an experience at Leicester City earning promotion to the Premier League, then the Chelsea job from the summer of 2024 until his sudden departure on January 1, 2026.

That was largely down to a disagreement over the way the club was being run and the choices that were being made behind the scenes.

Despite winning the Conference League and the Club World Cup in 2025, Maresca still did not have the full support of the Blues.

However, he was still under contract, so Manchester City had to participate in the negotiation of a termination by mutual consent.

According to Sky Sport Italia pundit Gianluca Di Marzio, the two clubs shook hands today on a deal worth around €20m.

Maresca can then be free to put pen to paper on a three-year contract with Manchester City.