Manchester City Appoint Enzo Maresca in €20m Deal
Italian Coach Becomes One of Football’s Most Expensive Managers
Manchester City have completed their first major signing of the summer transfer period, but it isn’t a player.
Instead, the club has appointed Enzo Maresca as their new manager, succeeding Pep Guardiola in one of the most high-profile coaching moves in recent years.
Maresca, 46, arrives from Chelsea, where he was under contract until 2029 despite stepping down earlier this year. City reached a verbal agreement with Chelsea and paid a reported €20 million compensation fee to secure his release.
That figure places Maresca among the most expensive managers in football history, ranking third behind Graham Potter’s €25m move from Brighton to Chelsea in 2022 and Julian Nagelsmann’s €25m switch from RB Leipzig to Bayern Munich in 2021.
Speaking on his return to City, where he previously worked as part of the coaching staff, Maresca said: ‘Manchester City is a club I know very well and to have the chance to manage this team is a brilliant opportunity for me. City is an incredibly well-run football club. Everything they do is innovative, planned and purposeful. For a manager, that is a dream situation. It provides the consistency I need to do my job effectively.’
Maresca’s managerial record includes 92 games at Chelsea, with 55 wins, 16 draws and 21 losses. His appointment underlines City’s determination to maintain continuity and innovation in the post-Guardiola era, even if the fee is modest compared to player transfers.
The move also reshuffles the list of football’s most expensive head coaches, placing Maresca ahead of José Mourinho’s €16m transfer from Inter Milan to Real Madrid in 2010 and André Villas-Boas’s €15m move from Porto to Chelsea in 2011.
