Cucurella: Maresca’s exit had ‘big impact’ on Chelsea, ‘you’d die for him’
Chelsea defender Marc Cucurella praises Enzo Maresca and admits the Italian coach’s exit was a big blow for the Blues: ‘When a manager gives you that confidence and offers you a platform to fight for titles, you’d die for him.’
Safe to say Spain international Cucurella is unhappy with Chelsea’s decision to part ways with Italian tactician Enzo Maresca in January.
The ex-Juventus midfielder left Stamford Bridge by mutual agreement on January 1, 2026.
Chelsea ‘more stable’ under Maresca
“With Enzo Maresca in charge, we were more stable, because we worked together for 18 months,” Cucurella told The Athletic.
“If you look at our first pre-season with him, there were doubts. You need a process for every player to understand what we need to do. In our last months with Maresca, we played almost by heart. If we changed the system, we knew what we had to do. You need that time.”
Maresca won the Conference League and the Club World Cup at Chelsea, but disagreements over the club’s long-term plans led to his exit after 18 months in charge.
“Winning a title like the Club World Cup also helps, strengthens the bond, and you create great relationships during the celebrations. When a manager gives you that confidence and offers you a platform to fight for titles, you’d die for him,” Cucurella continued.
“The moment Maresca left, it had a big impact on us. These are decisions taken by the club. If you asked me, I would not have made this decision. To make a change like that, the best thing is to wait until the end of the season. You would give everyone, the players and the new manager, time to get ready, have a full pre-season…
“The instability around the club comes from this, in a nutshell. We had a caretaker (former under-21s coach Calum McFarlane) first, then a new manager, with new ideas and no time to work on them. It is what it is.”
Recent reports in Italy have claimed that new Fiorentina director Fabio Paratici had contacted Maresca to offer him the job at the Stadio Franchi for 2026-27.
Maresca, however, is unlikely to accept the Tuscans’ proposal, given that he still has many admirers in the Premier League, including Manchester City, should Pep Guardiola depart in the summer.