Chelsea on Monday explained the dramatic departure of former head coach Enzo Maresca, blaming his mid-season resignation for derailing what the club described as a “hugely disappointing” 2025/26 campaign.
In a statement published on the club’s website, Chelsea said the disruption caused by Maresca’s exit during the Christmas period played a significant role in the team’s struggles and forced the club into an unwanted managerial change halfway through the season.
According to Chelsea, the first signs of trouble emerged in the autumn of 2025, when Maresca informed club officials that he might have the opportunity to succeed Pep Guardiola as Manchester City manager at the end of the season.
The statement read, “Chelsea FC appreciates the 2025/26 season was a hugely disappointing one for the Club and its supporters. A major contributing factor was the disruption caused as a result of changes that the Club was forced to make to the Head Coach position over the Christmas period. Due to recent developments, we consider that it is important to explain to our supporters what happened and why our former Head Coach left the Club on 1 January 2026.
In Autumn last year, the Club was informed by our former Head Coach that there might be an opportunity for him to succeed Pep Guardiola at the end of the season. It became clear to us that it was his strong desire to succeed Guardiola and that he was fully committed to pursuing the opportunity, despite the fact he was under a long-term contract which he had no right to terminate.
