Pep Guardiola tells Man City players he will leave; Maresca lined up as replacement

Pep Guardiola has informed Manchester City’s players that he will leave the club after Sunday’s final Premier League game of the season against Aston Villa, ending a decade-long tenure.

The manager felt compelled to update his squad after news of his departure broke Monday night, catching him off guard while he prepared for Tuesday’s match at Bournemouth.

Guardiola had hoped to keep his decision private longer to avoid distractions. City need to beat Bournemouth to keep the title race alive after Arsenal moved five points clear by defeating Burnley.

Guardiola is departing with one year left on his contract, and City have identified Enzo Maresca as his successor. Chelsea stand to receive substantial compensation from City for Maresca after his acrimonious exit from the London club on New Year’s Day.

City have reportedly agreed a three-year deal in principle with Maresca, but final details regarding his departure from Stamford Bridge remain unresolved. The former Leicester manager is understood to have contractual obligations to Chelsea.

Sources close to Maresca, who served as Guardiola’s assistant at City during the 2022-23 season, confirmed he did not claim severance and that Chelsea hold his compensation rights. The compensation amount remains confidential but is expected to be significant.

Chelsea have monitored developments around Guardiola’s future with interest, viewing Maresca’s resignation as a factor in their disappointing second half of the season. Chelsea are likely to miss out on Champions League qualification and lost the FA Cup final to City last Saturday.

After Maresca’s departure, Liam Rosenior struggled as his replacement and was fired last month, leaving Callum McFarlane as interim manager until the season ends, with Xabi Alonso set to join this summer.

The club’s BlueCo ownership did not want a mid-season change, but tensions escalated after Maresca stated on December 13 that he had experienced “his worst 48 hours” at Chelsea. It later emerged he had twice spoken with City affiliates about replacing Guardiola.

Relations between Maresca and Chelsea’s hierarchy soured after last summer’s Club World Cup victory. Maresca felt he deserved a new contract and was frustrated when Chelsea did not sign a center-back after Levi Colwill sustained a serious knee injury in preseason. Chelsea believed no suitable defenders were available. Sources said Maresca also leveraged interest from City and Juventus to push for a new deal.

The situation became untenable after a 2-2 home draw with Bournemouth on December 30. Maresca skipped his post-match media duties, initially citing illness, but later told the club he planned to quit. Maresca intends to add Willy Caballero to his City backroom staff; Caballero, a former City goalkeeper, served as his assistant at Leicester and Chelsea and left Chelsea with Maresca.