Enzo Maresca sack theory shared by Chelsea trophy winner as shock Man Utd manager verdict delivered

Enzo Maresca should not have been removed from his position at Chelsea due to his desire to take over at Manchester City, a former Blues trophy winner has exclusively told Sports Mole.

The Italian has been out of work for five days since his extraordinary exit from the Club World Cup winners, just a couple of days after he skipped his post-match press conference following a 2-2 draw with Bournemouth citing illness.

However, it was reported that Maresca was instead considering his future with Chelsea after a breakdown in relations with the boardroom, which he had previously referenced with his "worst 48 hours" comment in December.

At the same time, Maresca is understood to have held a couple of rounds of talks with Manchester City over the prospect of replacing Pep Guardiola as head coach, should the Catalan depart the Etihad at the end of the season.

The City links were not the main motivator in Chelsea and Maresca parting ways, though, according to Pat Nevin, who instead expressed his view that the 45-year-old "made enemies" in the boardroom.

Chelsea trophy winner delivers verdict on Enzo Maresca-Man City links in Blues exit

Asked whether he feels the Man City job played a big part in his exit, Nevin replied: “The simple thing is I don't know. Was it his decision to leave? I'm not convinced by that.

"Would he still be the Chelsea manager now if he wasn't nudged to go? Probably. I wrote a piece three weeks ago saying when you take on the board as a manager, you lose. You eventually make enemies in the boardroom.

“I think it's something wider than that, which clubs don't want you to hear just now - the clubs don't want the coaches to have too much power. It happened with Brendan Rodgers at Celtic, it happened at Manchester United with Ruben Amorim.

“It's a very, very common thing that the coach, he's not the manager anymore. That's why many of them are very upset because they are now coaches. Nothing else. We'll give you the players, and the problem is, ‘I don't want that.’

“And then who's going to be the flack-catcher? Who's going to get the stick when things go wrong? You turn to the guy on the touchline, and he's going, ‘well, no, I didn't say that. I didn't want that.’

“People want a simplistic answer to why Maresca left. Was it the possibility of City? That's up in the air. That might not happen for a long time. It may well be that his people were putting out feelers. I'm not surprised by that.

“But you think Chelsea weren't preparing for the next guy after him? That's what happens in the game. It certainly shouldn't be a reason why he should be removed because loyalty - or lack of loyalty - goes both ways.”

Could Enzo Maresca replace Ruben Amorim at Man United?

Only five days into 2026, and both Chelsea and Manchester United have parted ways with their head coaches, the Red Devils relieving Amorim of his duties after a similar relationship collapse with the powers-that-be.

Darren Fletcher has been given the job on an interim basis and is expected to lead the team for the remainder of the campaign, after which Sir Jim Ratcliffe and co are expected to hire a permanent successor.

Maresca has been name-checked as a potential replacement for Amorim, but given the similarities of both of their exits and power struggles with the board, it would be a shock to see the former take the reins at a club where he will have little say on transfers again.

Pat Nevin was speaking to Sports Mole on behalf of Betwright Football Betting.