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“Welcome home,” was Khaldoon al-Mubarak’s warm greeting to Enzo Maresca on his appointment last month as Manchester City manager. Now, after two previous spells at the club, the Italian’s task is to keep the chair content, and ensure a three-year contract does not end early. To achieve that, Maresca’s tenure must continue Pep Guardiola’s glittering legacy of 20 trophies across a decade of excellence.
The key to the 46-year-old, who was Guardiola’s assistant during the 2022-23 treble season and City’s elite development squad leader two years before that, being successful can be summed up in two words: “Keep Rodri”. Yet with Real Madrid almost certain to launch a bid for the peerless No 6, and him seemingly wanting to play for the Spanish giants, a move away from City may become inevitable.
Maresca’s best hope of avoiding “doing a David Moyes” – who succeeded Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United in May 2013 and lasted a mere 34 Premier League games – and thriving as the man who follows the man is to retain Rodri, who has just captained Spain to World Cup glory, winning the Golden Ball as best player in the process. The 30-year-old is contracted until June. City’s stance is that they have no wish to sell and remain intent on persuading him to sign the new terms that have been on offer for a while.
Saying City will definitely be contenders for the biggest prizes next season if they retain Rodri may sound simplistic until you examine his CV and are reminded of the pivotal role he has played for the club. Rodri was key to City’s treble glory, including scoring the winner in the Champions League final against Inter. Then there was the 74-game unbeaten sequence with him in the colours that ran from February 2023 to May 2024. “He’s unbelievable, irreplaceable,” said Guardiola. “The best midfielder in the world by far.”
The World Cup triumph also came after Rodri had been part of Spain’s Euro 2024 glory and City’s 2023 Club World Cup success, again winning the player of the tournament in each. In the two seasons before the World Cup, injury plagued him, however. The result: no Premier League titles in either year for City, halting a record four-in-a-row run for Guardiola’s garlanded team.
Rodri’s ability to mould and control contests was reiterated by his World Cup displays. Exhibit A: the chokehold imposed on France in the semi-finals. At domestic and international level, this is a priceless quality. So if Maresca can field Rodri, City will be feared in the league and on the continent. The back injury for which Rodri underwent surgery on Monday is minor, but the desire to broaden his club horizons – primarily in Spain – remains, meaning there is no certainty he will stay put. Particularly so given the initial resistance of Real Madrid’s president, Florentino Pérez, to acquiring Rodri has shifted, due, surely, to his resurgence at the World Cup and maybe José Mourinho, returning as head coach, expressing a need for the player’s calm and elan.
City have invested £116m on Elliot Anderson this summer, an England first-choice midfielder who may be joined by another midfielder in Lille’s Ayyoub Bouaddi, the 18-year-old who also impressed at the World Cup for Morocco, and would cost around £85m. However, neither of them or Tijjani Reijnders, Mateo Kovacic nor Nico González can claim to be in the class of Rodri, who may well be in line to claim a second Ballon d’Or following his World Cup exploits.
Maresca won the Championship with Leicester in 2024 and the following season led Chelsea to fourth in the Premier League and to a Conference League triumph, following that up with glory at the expanded Club World Cup, which featured the 3-0 demolition of Paris Saint-Germain in the final. All of this convinced al-Mubarak and his chief executive, Ferran Soriano, that Maresca is the one who can thrive after the era-defining Guardiola.
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Gvardiol says 'great things' will happen under Maresca
ShowJoško Gvardiol has signed a new five-year contract with Manchester City, the defender stating that “great things” can be achieved with Enzo Maresca, the new manager.
While the terms include an option of a further 12-months, the Croatian is confident that the Italian’s first season will be successful. “I remember when he was at Chelsea [2024-26] it was difficult to play against them – especially away. We struggled. He’s here and I think we can achieve some great things together,” Gvardiol said.
The 24-year-old has made 122 appearances and claimed six trophies with City since joining from RB Leipzig in 2023 for £77m and was voted the club’s 2024-5 player of the season.
Gvardiol said: “I remember my first season when I arrived – back then I was kind of still young. In these three years I’ve learned a lot of things from all my team-mates, my friends in the dressing room and on the pitch in the last three years.
"I still think there are a lot of things to improve and learn but I’m only 24, I have enough time.”
However, as Maresca made clear with his “after Sir Alex [Ferguson]” reference in his unveiling on Friday, directly following greatness can be treacherous. The comparison between him and Moyes is hardly precise, though. Moyes arrived at United trophyless and with no experience of the pressures of an elite club. Maresca’s résumé shows a season and a half in the Chelsea hothouse and, with his prior experience of City, he is versed in the organisation where he now plays a crucial role.
City have five weeks of the market remaining to try to persuade Rodri his future is at the club. Guardiola’s stance was never to stop any player exiting who wished to do so. The logic is understandable: what is the point in retaining an unhappy employee? In this case it would also be one who wants to return to his native city. “Having played for Atlético [Madrid] before would not prevent me from playing for Real Madrid,” Rodri said in March. “There are other players who have done that before. Maybe not direct transfers, but eventually. You can’t turn down one of the world’s best clubs.”
Even Real Madrid boycotting Rodri’s Ballon d’Or-crowning ceremony in November 2024 in protest at Vinícius Júnior’s failure to win the vote has clearly not dissuaded the midfielder that the Bernabéu can be the home al-Mubarak characterises City as for Maresca.
