Enzo Maresca is expected to be named the successor to Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, but one of the things holding that up right now is any compensation that may be due to Chelsea, Maresca’s prior employer.
When Maresca walked away from the Chelsea job at the turn of the year, he (seemingly) did so voluntarily — “parted company” was the official verbiage — and without taking any additional compensation. That severance package could’ve been worth as much as £14m based on his reported annual salary
of ¢4m; though it likely would’ve been a lot less, since we usually insert various break-clauses to avoid having to pay out the full value at their inevitable sacking. But he evidently wanted out so badly that he got nothing.
So it’s a bit surprising that, according to Sky Sports, Manchester City’s and Chelsea’s lawyers are now “in talks” over “compensation for” our former head coach. It’s unclear if the talks are centered around the legal details of Enzo’s Chelsea exit, or if perhaps we are taking issue with City effectively tapping up Maresca back in the fall. Maresca reported to the Chelsea powers that be that he was, in effect, doing a job interview, which was then later followed up by a second interview — all leading to a breakdown between Enzo and the Chelsea Board as we approached the halfway point of the season (Maresca feeling unsupported, clashing with the medical team, etc.).
If Maresca were still under contract at Chelsea, City would certainly have to pay a transfer fee. But the situation is obviously a bit more complicated than that, and just because Maresca quit — presuming he did in fact just quit — that doesn’t necessarily mean that there isn’t still a no-compete clause that he and City have to abide by (and thus negotiate around). Labor laws are fun, I’m sure.
In any case, this is all just some lawyers earning their keep at the end of the day, so I’m sure we’ll have an agreement before long, with perhaps a few million being thrown our way. Every penny counts! City are said to be hoping to get this all agreed and announced this week.
