Enzo Maresca: Chelsea coach leaves with the Blues in fifth place in the Premier League

The Blues have won just one of their past seven league games and picked up just six points from six games in December to fall 15 points behind leaders Arsenal.

But the results are only a small part of the story.

Maresca, whose contract was due to run until 2029, delighted key figures at Stamford Bridge – including sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart, and influential co-owner Behdad Eghbali – by leading Chelsea to a fourth-place finish and winning the UEFA Conference League and the Club World Cup last year.

However, success soon turned sour in his relationship with the hierarchy.

Maresca stunned even his teammates when he said – after beating Everton 2-0 in Chelsea’s only Premier League win in December – that “a lot of people” had made it his “worst 48 hours” since joining the club.

The comments came without any warning to club staff or senior management, who would have preferred any discussions to remain private.

But friction had been brewing in the months leading up to that.

Maresca was hoping to raise his profile following the Blues’ successes through opportunities outside the club. He was planning to publish a book before it was banned, and spoke at Il Festival dello Sport – an event in Italy organized by the newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport – without the club’s permission.

He also publicly declared that he disagreed with the club not signing a central defender after Levi Colwell suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury in pre-season. The club hierarchy made it clear that doing so could prompt potential academy player Josh Acheampong to request a transfer, which ultimately led to Maresca backing out.

The former Leicester manager has also switched agents – from Wasserman to Jorge Mendes – and has been talked about as a potential successor to Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, which Maresca has rejected.

In addition, he increasingly avoided wearing tracksuits and instead opted for his own clothing.

After his final match for Chelsea – a 2-2 draw with Bournemouth on 30 December – assistant manager Willy Caballero said Maresca felt so unwell that he was unable to carry out his post-match media duties, but it is understood his absence was due to his disappointment at the club.

It was notable that when Chelsea posted a 52-second video on social media on New Year’s Eve recapping their year, there was no sign of Marisca.