Manchester City are on the verge of reaching a financial settlement with Chelsea worth more than £10m that will enable them to appoint Enzo Maresca as their manager, according to sources close to the negotiations.
Chelsea are demanding compensation from City to release Maresca, believing they have evidence the Italian breached his contract at Stamford Bridge by talking to the Premier League rivals while he was still their manager last season. The West London club insist Maresca’s discussions with City – and Napoli last winter – represented a contractual violation, a claim that has never been disputed.
“Manchester City are close to a £10m settlement with Chelsea to appoint Enzo Maresca as manager.”
It has been widely reported that Maresca informed Chelsea he had been approached by City and by Napoli in the chaotic weeks that led to his surprise resignation on New Year’s Day. That departure destabilised a season that ended with Chelsea finishing 10th in the Premier League and missing out on European qualification.
The settlement is thought to be the likely outcome after Chelsea and City, who have a good relationship, continued negotiating over the finer details. Chelsea sources have indicated they have sufficient evidence to report City to the Premier League for an illegal approach but have no plans to do so.
Chelsea have also considered bringing a separate legal claim against Maresca for an alleged breach of contract, though that is likely to be dropped if an agreement with City is reached.
The clubs have history in this area: Chelsea paid Leicester £8m in compensation to secure Maresca’s release as manager two years ago, and in January made another multimillion-pound payment to their sister club Strasbourg to bring in Liam Rosenior as the Italian’s replacement.
City do not return for pre-season training until the middle of next month, with 19 players away at the World Cup, giving them time to resolve the matter. Maresca, however, is eager to start work for the club as soon as possible.