The compensation package is understood to be worth around £17m — a figure Chelsea held firm on after Manchester City began talks with Maresca while he was still under contract at Stamford Bridge. Maresca left Chelsea on January 1 and had been in an informal holding pattern, turning down other approaches while waiting for City's appointment to be formally completed.
Maresca, 45, is not an unfamiliar presence at the Etihad. He served as Guardiola's assistant during City's 2022-23 treble-winning campaign, giving him an intimate understanding of the positional-game principles the club has operated on throughout Guardiola's decade in charge. He subsequently took charge at Leicester City, guiding the Foxes back to the Premier League in 2023-24, before joining Chelsea the following summer.
Chelsea had included contractual protections designed to ensure compensation would be paid if Maresca quickly moved to another elite employer, and their hierarchy stood firm throughout. City had expected a more straightforward resolution and were frustrated by the length of the process.
Maresca will begin work in Manchester next month before taking the squad to Asia for pre-season friendlies in Hong Kong and South Korea. They will then travel to Cardiff for the Community Shield against Arsenal, with Wembley unavailable that weekend. City's Premier League campaign opens at home against Bournemouth, with the Chelsea fixture scheduled for December 12.
With Bernardo Silva and John Stones both having departed and Guardiola's era formally closed, Maresca inherits the task of rebuilding a squad around sporting director Hugo Viana's vision. City's transfer activity has been ongoing in parallel, with Maresca working alongside Viana throughout the window and closely involved in the pursuit of Nottingham Forest midfielder Elliot Anderson, which is understood to be in its final stages.