The Replacement Is Basically Official

Enzo Maresca is set to become Manchester City's next manager. According to BBC Sport's Sami Mokbel, talks are at an advanced stage and Maresca — 46 years old, Italian, former Chelsea boss — wants the job. He's expected to be confirmed as Guardiola's successor before the 2026-27 season kicks off.

This isn't a surprise. The Athletic's David Ornstein and Sam Lee reported that City were already eyeing Maresca back in December 2025. He left Chelsea in January 2026. The groundwork was laid months ago.

Who Is Maresca?

He's not a household name outside England. But he's not a stranger to City either.

Maresca served as Guardiola's first-team assistant during City's 2022-23 treble-winning season. Before that, he ran City's Under-21 setup. He left in 2023 to manage Leicester, guided them to Premier League promotion in one season, then moved to Chelsea — where he won the Conference League, the Club World Cup, and secured Champions League qualification. That's a lot of hardware for a manager most casual fans can't name.

Chelsea paid him off in January 2026, less than six months after the Club World Cup win. According to The Athletic, Maresca told Chelsea hierarchy — twice in late October and again in mid-December — that he was in discussions with City about succeeding Guardiola. Chelsea kept him anyway, then let him go.

Guardiola himself has publicly praised Maresca. "One of the best managers in the world," Guardiola said, adding that Maresca's work at Chelsea "does not get enough credit."

The Succession Was Planned for Six Months — While Guardiola Denied It Publicly

City were preparing for Guardiola's exit for more than six months, per BBC Sport. Yet as recently as Saturday's FA Cup final victory over Chelsea, Guardiola was deflecting questions with "One more year of contract" and "Rumours?" before making what The Athletic described as a "hasty exit" from the post-match press conference.

This is a man who had already been in departure mode for half a year telling reporters there was nothing to see. The club and manager were on the same page. The public wasn't invited.

What's Actually New: The 115 Charges Elephant in the Room

Every outlet is covering the Maresca appointment story. Far fewer are giving adequate weight to what BBC Sport's Dan Roan correctly flagged: Guardiola is leaving before the verdict on Manchester City's 115 Premier League financial charges is delivered.

The independent commission completed its disciplinary hearing over a year and a half ago. Still NO ruling. The charges cover alleged financial rule breaches spanning 2009 to 2018 — including alleged failure to provide accurate financial information on player and manager payments, alleged breaches of UEFA's Financial Fair Play rules, alleged breaches of the Premier League's Profitability and Sustainability Rules, and alleged failure to cooperate with the Premier League's investigation from December 2018 to February 2023.

There is zero suggestion Guardiola personally knew about or participated in any alleged wrongdoing. But two years of his tenure overlap with the charged period — his arrival was summer 2016. He can't claim the charges have nothing to do with his time there.

City have consistently denied wrongdoing. But the verdict hasn't come. And now the manager who presided over most of that trophy-winning era is leaving before anyone knows whether those trophies were won on a level playing field.

What Mainstream Coverage Is Getting Wrong

Most coverage — BBC, The Athletic, Fox Sports — is treating this as a clean, triumphant handover story. Manager leaves with 20 trophies, successor steps in, cycle continues.

The overall media tone is celebratory when it should be more measured. The 115 charges aren't a footnote. If City are found guilty of systematic financial cheating, this entire decade of dominance gets asterisked — or potentially stripped. Coverage that buries that reality in paragraph 12 is doing readers a disservice.

The New Era Starts Without Its Foundation

Beyond the charges, Maresca inherits a rebuilding job. According to Outlook India, long-serving players John Stones and Bernardo Silva are both expected to depart this summer. Former director of football Txiki Begiristain already left last season.

The squad that won four consecutive Premier League titles is being dismantled at the same time the manager who built it is walking out the door. Maresca is talented. But stepping into Guardiola's shoes at a club still under legal siege, with key players leaving and a full front-office transition underway, is a different assignment than winning the Conference League with a young Chelsea side.

City still have two matches left — away at Bournemouth and home to Aston Villa on May 24. They trail Arsenal by two points. Guardiola could walk out as a seven-time Premier League winner.

Or he could walk out with six titles and a legal verdict still pending that could redefine all of them.