Separation a done deal
Chelsea earthquake: successful coach suddenly leaves the club
Updated on January 1, 2026 – 1:30 p.mReading time: 2 minutes
Enzo Maresca led Chelsea back to the Champions League, won the Club World Cup and was coach of the month in November. At the start of the new year it is clear: Maresca is leaving.
Quake at Chelsea FC: The top English club and coach Enzo Maresca are going their separate ways. What had already been hinted at for a few days is now a done deal. The club confirmed the media reports. Overall, the end comes suddenly due to Chelsea’s successes under Maresca. The separation is probably amicable.
On the one hand, the Chelsea bosses are impatient because the “Blues” were only able to win two of the eight competitive games in December – including a League Cup game against a third division team. On the other hand, Maresca is also said to be dissatisfied with the support of his bosses. He didn’t feel sufficiently appreciated and wanted more influence in squad planning.
Maresca has only been in office since the summer of 2024. The Italian led Chelsea back into the Champions League and also won the first Club World Cup since the reform in the summer. Under Maresca, Chelsea was back at the top of the Premier League after a few inconsistent years, and the “Blues” also made several exclamation marks in the Champions League. In November, for example, Chelsea defeated FC Barcelona 3-0 and also beat Benfica and Ajax. Therefore, the defeat against Bayern in September (1:3) had to be overcome.
Nevertheless, Maresca was not without controversy. The Italian rigorously sorted out several players and had them train in another training group. This also affected the English international Raheem Sterling, for example.
In addition, despite investments amounting to several hundred million, Maresca warned that he needed new players. A sign that having a say in transfers was not enough for him. But for a long time the success belied the internal tensions. That was now over.
It is still unclear who will be in the dugout against Manchester City next weekend.