Enzo Maresca Takes Over as Manchester City Manager for 2026/27 Season
Enzo Maresca will take over as Manchester City manager from the 2026/27 season, stepping into one of the most demanding jobs in modern football as Pep Guardiola prepares to walk away after a decade of dominance and 20 trophies at the Etihad Stadium.
Guardiola’s departure has triggered sweeping change behind the scenes. Alongside the Catalan, assistant manager Pep Lijnders will also leave the club this summer, ending a brief but intense spell in Manchester.
Lijnders chooses his own road
Lijnders arrived at City in June 2025, fresh from an illustrious stint as Jürgen Klopp’s right-hand man at Liverpool. His impact at the Etihad has been short-lived but energetic, adding a familiar high-intensity edge to the training ground and touchline.
City’s hierarchy had earmarked him as a key pillar of the post-Guardiola era. As the club mapped out life without the man who redefined their footballing identity, they wanted Lijnders to stay, to provide continuity and insight for the new regime.
The plan was clear: Maresca in as manager, Lijnders retained as one of his senior assistants.
The Dutchman said no.
According to The Athletic’s James Pearce, Lijnders will leave at the end of the season despite City offering him a new long-term contract. The 43-year-old has opted against remaining an assistant under Maresca, choosing instead to forge his own path away from the Etihad.
For a coach who has spent much of his career in the shadow of two of the game’s most charismatic leaders, the decision feels decisive. Rather than becoming a bridge between Guardiola and Maresca, he will step away entirely.
End of an era, start of another
Guardiola’s 10-year reign at City will close after the final Premier League game of the season, at home to Aston Villa. When the whistle goes on Sunday, it will not just mark the end of a title race or a campaign, but the conclusion of one of English football’s defining managerial eras.
Lijnders will say his goodbyes to players and staff that same day. One season in Manchester, then on to a new challenge elsewhere this summer.
Maresca will walk into a club that has grown used to certainty: same manager, same ideas, same relentless standards. Now, City face a clean break. The legendary head coach is going. The handpicked assistant is going with him. The new man arrives without the internal safety net many expected.
For a club that has spent a decade scripting the future, the next chapter suddenly feels far less predictable.
