Chelsea revealed the details of Mareska's departure from the club

Chelsea FC released an official statement explaining the circumstances of the departure of head coach Enzo Maresca and subsequent specialist in Manchester City. "Chelsea FC believes that the 2025/26 season has been a terrible disappointment for the club and its supporters. A major contributing factor was the disruption caused by the changes the club was forced to make to the head coach over the Christmas period," the statement read. The club noted that back in the fall of 2025, the then head coach informed the management about the possibility of becoming Pep Guardiola's successor at Manchester City in the future. "It has become clear to us that he has a strong desire to succeed Guardiola and that he is fully committed to taking advantage of this opportunity, despite the fact that he has a long-term contract that cannot be terminated," Chelsea added. The statement also mentions the coach's sudden resignation in December 2025. "In December 2025, our head coach unexpectedly and suddenly resigned. We understandably felt disappointed as we believed his mind and heart were focused on another club and another opportunity, despite having just arrived at Chelsea a year earlier," the club said. Chelsea also confirmed that confidential agreements had been reached with Manchester City and Maresca himself regarding compensation.