Has Guardiola given Man City his blessing over Maresca appointment?

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FT Desk

After a hugely successful 10-year stint in the Premier League, Pep Guardiola will leave Manchester City at the conclusion of the season.

The Spaniard arrived with a massive reputation, having changed the face of modern football with Barcelona and then enjoying more dominance in Germany with Bayern Munich.

At City, he turned them into the preeminent force in English football and in his tenure, the club has won six Premier League titles, three FA Cups, five League Cups, one Champions League, one UEFA Super Cup, one Club World Cup and three Community Shields.

Though an official announcement has not happened yet, Guardiola's departure has been confirmed by various outlets, including The Athletic and Sky Sports.

That quickly raised the question as to who will replace Pep in the dugout at the Etihad.

It looks more than likely to be former Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca, who previously worked at City as one of Guardiola's assistants, including in the treble-winning campaign in 2022/23. His stint at Stamford Bridge ended with a dismissal, but the general consensus is that the Blues are a club in turmoil, so his reputation remains untarnished.

As the pair have worked together previously and with Maresca's already-established connection to the club, it is possible that Guardiola gave his blessing on the Italian's appointment.

"Everyone is a grown-up Guardiola will be aware City had to speak to people," said The Observer's Rory Smith to on BBC 5 Live.

"Plus, Guardiola would approve of Maresca as his successor. He's his former assistant, linked to the club, all that.

"He's someone who is really highly thought of within City. It is more likely to be done with Guardiola's blessing."

Former Premier League star Andros Townsend, also speaking on 5 Live, believes Bayern's Vincent Kompany should be the number one choice but understands the pursuit of Maresca as Chelsea did, at points, look very strong when he was in charge, including the Club World Cup triumph.

"If Vincent Kompany won't come then I think Maresca is the next best choice," Townsend said.

"I know they struggled with consistency as they were a young team, but when I watched Chelsea in one-off games or in the Club World Cup - there was nobody better than Chelsea at that tournament.

"I think Maresca is a top manager. There's nobody better apart from Kompany to take City into this rebuild that Guardiola started. "

During an appearance on Sky Sport Italia last week, Maresca himself confirmed that he plans to return to management within the next few months.

“I feel ready for the next chapter, that is the most important thing,” Maresca admitted (via Football Italia).

When asked specifically the Man City job, he added: “What matters, regardless of the club, is being ready. There are only a few weeks left until the end of the season, then we’ll see what happens.”

The former Parma head coach, who guided Leicester City to the Championship title before joining Chelsea in 2024, is expected to be finalised when Guardiola departs.