It’s that time of year again. A time to gather with friends, family, eat copious amount of food, and, of course, if you work in football media, speculate about whether this could be Pep Guardiola’s final season at Man City.
According to The Athletic’s David Ornstein, there is a feeling inside Man City that 2025-26 will indeed be Guardiola’s final season at Man City, and Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca, who worked under the Spaniard, is high on their list to replace him.
A manager of a ‘big six’ Premier League club has never directly moved from one to another, but in what would be the biggest managerial transition since Sir Alex Ferguson, going for Maresca would make sense for Man City.
Interesting timing for Maresca and Man City
All of this news came a few days after Maresca had an uncharacteristic outburst in his post-game press conference following Chelsea’s 2-0 win over Everton, in which he said the previous 48 hours had been the “worst” of his time at the club.
Maresca claimed it was due to a lack of support but then refused to clarify who he was referring to. The rumour mill has since gone spinning, and it’s been widely reported that he was talking about co-owner Behdad Eghbali.
It’s understood that the Italian is tired of having to defend himself after every negative result, and believes he’s been thrown under the bus for the club’s rotation policy, which has been actively encouraged by the powers that be.
What makes all of this more interesting, Maresca recently switched agents and is now represented by Jorge Mendes, who has a fantastic relationship with Man City’s sporting director Hugo Viana.
I don’t mean to sound like a conspiracy theorist, but it’s all coming together quite nicely for Maresca and City.
He knows the club
It can’t be understated how big of a deal it will be when Guardiola does finally leave Man City, whether it’s at the end of this season or in another ten years. He is arguably the most influential manager in the history of football, just look at the number of coaches at top level clubs that have worked under him.
This isn’t the first time we’ve had this conversation. There was a point when many thought Patrick Viera, who worked under Guardiola at Man City and then as manager of New York City FC, part of City Group, would be the man to replace him.
Then it was Mikel Arteta, but he has since transformed Arsenal into genuine rivals, so that one is less likely. More recently Vincent Kompany, although he is clearly loving life at Bayern Munich at the moment, he has no reason to leave, despite his legend status at Man City.
Maresca feels like the most gettable of those that have worked under Guardiola. Not just because he clearly has issues at Chelsea, but because the West London club don’t really put too much stock into the importance of a ‘manager’.
Having someone who already knows the structure of the club, as well as many of the players that are still there, could prove invaluable for what will eventually be one of the biggest transition periods in the history of the Premier League.
What has Maresca said about the Man City links?
Of course, Maresca brushed off the speculation when asked about it ahead of their Premier League clash with Newcastle on Saturday (December 20), saying: "It doesn't affect me. It's 100% speculation.
"There is no time for this kind of thing. I have a contract here until 2029. My focus is just about this club. I'm very proud to be here.
"It's speculation. One week ago was the same thing with Juventus. I don't pay attention because I know it's not true.
"It's important to understand the reason why this news was there. It's not my job, I don't care at all. The players are focused on Newcastle.
Asked whether he could promise he would be at Chelsea next season, he said: "Absolutely, yes. I have a contract until 2029.
"This is speculation, 100%. I don't have nothing to add. I don't pay attention. If we continue to talk about it,it means I'm paying attention. I'm just focused on Newcastle and on my job."
Verdict
This story won’t be going away any time soon. Whether Guardiola does intend to leave Man City at the end of this season, we don’t know, but if he does, hiring Maresca would make more sense than many might think.