{"id":37648,"date":"2026-06-29T16:22:29","date_gmt":"2026-06-29T16:22:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/29\/chelsea-slams-citys-signing-of-maresca-his-heart-and-mind-were-at-another-club\/"},"modified":"2026-06-29T16:22:29","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T16:22:29","slug":"chelsea-slams-citys-signing-of-maresca-his-heart-and-mind-were-at-another-club","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/29\/chelsea-slams-citys-signing-of-maresca-his-heart-and-mind-were-at-another-club\/","title":{"rendered":"Chelsea slams City&#8217;s signing of Maresca: &#8216;His heart and mind were at another club&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p data-mrf-recirculation=\"Links P\u00e1rrafos\" class=\"ue-c-article__paragraph paragraph ue-c-article--first-letter-highlighted\">Manchester City&#8217;s announcement of the signing of Enzo Maresca to replace Pep Guardiola has caused a stir in the Premier League.<\/p>\n<p data-mrf-recirculation=\"Links P\u00e1rrafos\" class=\"ue-c-article__paragraph paragraph\">Chelsea immediately reacted to the official statement of the Citizen condemning the actions of the Italian manager, who won the Conference League and the Club World Cup with the Blues in the 2024-25 season, and revealed why he suddenly decided to leave Stamford Bridge despite being under contract until 2029.<\/p>\n<p data-mrf-recirculation=\"Links P\u00e1rrafos\" class=\"ue-c-article__paragraph paragraph\">&#8220;Chelsea FC acknowledges that the 2025-26 season has been a very disappointing one for the club and its supporters. A decisive factor was the instability caused by the change in the position of head coach over the Christmas period. In the wake of recent events, we believe it is important to explain to our fans what happened and why the former manager resigned on 1 January 2026,&#8221; the statement begins.<\/p>\n<p data-mrf-recirculation=\"Links P\u00e1rrafos\" class=\"ue-c-article__paragraph paragraph\">Last fall, our former coach told us that he might have the opportunity to replace Josep Guardiola at the end of the season. It has become clear to us that his big ambition is to succeed Guardiola and that he is committed to seizing that opportunity, despite a long-term contract that cannot be terminated. \u201d, \u201cBlues\u201d continues.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"ue-c-article__blockquote\">\n<p>It has become clear to us that his big ambition is to succeed Guardiola and that he is fully committed to taking advantage of that opportunity.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p data-mrf-recirculation=\"Links P\u00e1rrafos\" class=\"ue-c-article__paragraph paragraph\">&#8220;In December 2025, our manager unexpectedly and suddenly resigned. We are clearly disappointed as we believed that despite coming to Chelsea the previous year, his heart and mind were with another club and another opportunity,&#8221; they stress.<\/p>\n<p data-mrf-recirculation=\"Links P\u00e1rrafos\" class=\"ue-c-article__paragraph paragraph\">&#8220;No club wants to replace a manager mid-season, but given his decision not to continue in his responsibilities until the end of the season, the club had no choice but to protect its players, fans and badge and accept his resignation,&#8221; they explained.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"ue-c-article__blockquote\">\n<p>No club wants to replace a manager mid-season, but in order to protect the players, fans and badge, they had no choice but to accept his resignation.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p data-mrf-recirculation=\"Links P\u00e1rrafos\" class=\"ue-c-article__paragraph paragraph\">&#8220;Therefore, an agreement has been reached between the two clubs and Maresca himself. &#8220;In light of this situation, and out of mutual respect between the clubs, we have reached a confidential agreement with Manchester City that includes the payment of compensation. A confidential agreement has also been reached with the former manager, under which he will also pay compensation.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-mrf-recirculation=\"Links P\u00e1rrafos\" class=\"ue-c-article__paragraph paragraph\">Chelsea concluded the occasion with a &#8220;nod&#8221; to Xabi Alonso in a statement, saying: &#8220;For next season, we are looking to Xabi Alonso, a manager with extraordinary football vision and great professional integrity. He has all the qualities needed to deliver the success that our club&#8217;s fans deserve and expect.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.marca.com\/en\/football\/premier-league\/2026\/06\/29\/chelsea-condemn-maresca-s-signing-by-city-his-mind-and-heart-were-at-another-club.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Manchester City&#8217;s announcement of the signing of Enzo Maresca to replace Pep Guardiola has caused a stir in the Premier League. Chelsea immediately reacted to the official statement of the Citizen condemning the actions of the Italian manager, who won the Conference League and the Club World Cup with the Blues in the 2024-25 season,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":37649,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-37648","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-football"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Chelsea slams City&#039;s signing of Maresca: &#039;His heart and mind were at another club&#039; - EPL VIP \u2013 Latest English Premier League News &amp; Updates<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/29\/chelsea-slams-citys-signing-of-maresca-his-heart-and-mind-were-at-another-club\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Chelsea slams City&#039;s signing of Maresca: &#039;His heart and mind were at another club&#039; - EPL VIP \u2013 Latest English Premier League News &amp; Updates\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Manchester City&#8217;s announcement of the signing of Enzo Maresca to replace Pep Guardiola has caused a stir in the Premier League. 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