Revealed: How Pep Guardiola and Txiki Begiristain propelled Man City’s Enzo Maresca appointment

Revealed: How Pep Guardiola and Txiki Begiristain propelled Man City’s Enzo Maresca appointment Maresca would not have been appointed Man City manager without Pep Guardiola’s knowledge Ex sporting director Txiki Begiristain recommended Maresca to Hugo Viana before 2025 handover Maresca spent his break from football studying AI, reading Rene Descartes & ‘Football and Chess’ Enzo Maresca’s appointment as Manchester City manager was aided by seals of approval from former director of football Txiki Begiristain and ex-manager Pep Guardiola, as per a new report. Maresca was confirmed as City’s manager on Monday on a contract until 2029 following the resolution of compensation talks with the Italian’s former employers Chelsea , bringing to an end a managerial search that began upon Guardiola ‘s departure from the Etihad Stadium in May. The 46-year-old previously managed City’s Elite Development Squad and was a key contributor to the club’s historic 2022-23 Treble-winning campaign – a connection that appears to run deeper into the club’s decision-making process than had been previously understood. Manchester City confirm Enzo Maresca as first-team manager on contract till 2029 Report: Guardiola’s endorsement & Begiristain’s recommendation shaped Maresca’s appointment According to BBC Sport’s Nizaar Kinsella and Shamoon Hafez , Maresca would not have been chosen as City’s new manager without Guardiola’s knowledge, with those close to those involved in the process indicating the Spaniard played a meaningful role in shaping the club’s thinking before he departed. Begiristain, who stepped down as director of football in 2025 to make way for Portuguese executive Hugo Viana , is also reported to have recommended Maresca during his handover process, lending further weight to the sense that City’s pursuit of the Italian was rooted in trusted internal endorsements rather than an open-ended external search. The report also details how Maresca has used the pause in his career since leaving Stamford Bridge for both rest and what is described as knowledge gathering, with the incoming manager known to be studying Artificial Intelligence and reading the work of French philosopher Rene Descartes, alongside Alex Wells’ book ‘Football and Chess’ during family holidays. His assistants Willy Caballero and Danny Walker , who are expected to re-join City alongside him, are reported to have used the same period similarly, with the trio understood to have approached the months since their Chelsea exit as an opportunity for reflection ahead of a new challenge in the north-west. What does the Guardiola & Begiristain connection mean for Man City’s new era? The revelation that Guardiola had knowledge of Maresca’s appointment before it was finalised reinforces the continuity City’s hierarchy have consistently sought to project since confirming the Italian as their new manager, framing his return not as a clean break from the Guardiola era but as a considered evolution shaped in part by the outgoing manager himself. Begiristain’s recommendation, delivered as he handed his responsibilities to Viana, adds a further layer to that picture of institutional continuity, suggesting City’s recruitment of a new head coach was as much an internal, relationship-driven process as it was a structured search. Revealed: How much Man City paid Chelsea to hire Enzo Maresca as new manager Maresca’s reported interest in AI and philosophy speaks to the intellectual curiosity that has come to define his public image as a coach – and offers an early glimpse into the kind of considered, deeply prepared figure City’s hierarchy believe they have appointed to lead the next phase of the club’s progress at the Etihad Stadium.