Enzo Maresca to Become Manchester City Manager as Pep Lijnders Departs

Manchester City have chosen their future – and lost another key figure in the same breath.

Enzo Maresca is set to become City’s new manager from the 2026/27 season, stepping into one of the most demanding roles in world football just as Pep Guardiola walks away after a decade and 20 trophies at the Etihad Stadium.

But Guardiola will not be the only departure shaping this new era. Assistant manager Pep Lijnders, brought in only last summer, will also leave the club at the end of the season.

One Intense Year, Then the Exit

Lijnders arrived at City in June 2025, a high-profile addition to Guardiola’s staff after his long, decorated stint alongside Jürgen Klopp at Liverpool. His impact was immediate: energetic on the training ground, vocal on the touchline, and widely viewed as a coach with the personality and pedigree to influence the next chapter.

City’s hierarchy clearly thought so. As Guardiola confirmed his decision to bring a close to his 10-year reign, the club moved quickly behind the scenes to map out life without the Catalan. Those plans included Lijnders as a central figure.

The idea was simple: Maresca in as head coach, Lijnders retained as a powerful lieutenant to help bridge eras and maintain continuity in the dressing room.

The club made their move. According to The Athletic’s James Pearce, City offered Lijnders a new long-term contract to stay on as part of Maresca’s staff.

He turned it down.

Choosing His Own Path

At 43, Lijnders has decided not to remain in the shadows of another manager. After years as Klopp’s trusted assistant and a brief, intense spell under Guardiola, he wants his own touchline, his own project, his own name on the door.

So instead of becoming one of Maresca’s assistants, he will walk away with Guardiola at the end of the current campaign.

City were keen to keep him. That much is clear. But this is a coach determined to step out of the assistant’s role and test himself elsewhere. The club’s preferred succession plan, carefully sketched out as Guardiola’s exit loomed, has had to absorb an early jolt.

Farewell at the Etihad

The timing is stark. On Sunday, after the final Premier League game of the season at home to Aston Villa, Lijnders will say his goodbyes to players and staff at the Etihad.

Guardiola’s departure will dominate the headlines, as it should after a decade that has reshaped both City and English football. Yet inside the building, the loss of Lijnders strips away another layer of continuity just as Maresca prepares to step into the most scrutinised job of his career.

City will move forward with a new man in charge and without the assistant they had hoped would help glue the transition together. Lijnders, meanwhile, leaves the Etihad with his reputation intact, his ambitions clear, and his next challenge waiting somewhere beyond Manchester.