Chelsea ‘falling-out’ came after sporting directors ‘marched into the dressing room’
Enzo Maresca’s interest in replacing Pep Guardiola at Man City may have led to his sacking at Chelsea.
That is according to ex-Everton, Aston Villa, and Aberdeen chief executive Keith Wyness, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, who has criticised BlueCo’s ownership of Chelsea.
Chelsea sacked Maresca after 18 months in charge, with tension building between the manager and the club’s hierarchy.
Maresca is on Man City’s shortlist to replace Guardiola when the Spaniard leaves the club in the future.
BlueCo ‘don’t understand the football system’
Everton’s former chief Keith Wyness – who served as CEO at Goodison Park between 2004 and 2009 and now runs a football consultancy advising elite clubs – believes there was a “falling out” between Maresca and Chelsea.
Speaking on the new edition of Football Insider‘s Inside Track podcast, Wyness thinks BlueCo don’t understand how to run a football club.
He told Football Insider‘s Inside Track podcast: “I think there were discussions with Man City. I don’t think BlueCo liked that at all.
“And I think there was a falling out, certainly in the way that they used to march into the dressing room after games and ask for reports straight away. Again, this smacks of people, a bit like [Jim] Ratcliffe, who don’t seem to understand exactly the football system.
“They’ve got the money, of course, they have the right to do it, but it doesn’t mean to say, just because you’ve got the right to do it, doesn’t mean that it’s the right thing to do. And I’ve always been very respectful of the football space, and I think that’s one thing they don’t understand.
“They don’t seem to understand the rhythm of a season, the rhythm of the heartbeat of a club, how it works, how it functions. This is what’s missing from the people at the top in some of these big clubs today where money and private equity have come in without really understanding the actual organism that they’re buying into, and how live it is and how different it is from many other businesses.”
Enzo Maresca reveals contract stance
Maresca was open to signing a new Chelsea contract, with the Italian hoping to use interest from Man City as leverage for a new deal.
The 45-year-old still had three years, with an option of an extra year, left on his Chelsea deal before he was sacked.
Chelsea have acted quickly to appoint Maresca’s successor, with Strasbourg boss Liam Rosenior the next permanent manager at Stamford Bridge.