Enzo Maresca’s shock departure at Chelsea came after he informed the club that he had held talks with figures associated to Manchester City over replacing Pep Guardiola.

Chelsea have been weighed down by uncertainty ever since cracks in Maresca’s relationship with the board became apparent last month, but there is a feeling at Stamford Bridge that the Italian was looking to engineer an exit before a parting of the ways was confirmed on Thursday morning.

There was deep dissatisfaction with Maresca’s decisions during games but the bigger issue was his conduct away from the pitch. The situation has been volatile ever since he made cryptic comments about experiencing his “worst 48 hours” at the club after the win over Everton on 13 December. Mystery surrounded those remarks but there is now the added context that Maresca told his bosses – twice in late October, then in the days after the Everton game – that he had spoken to figures associated with City about replacing Guardiola should the Spaniard depart at the end of the season. Maresca was Guardiola’s assistant at City in the 2022-23 season.

It is understood that Maresca, who has been in charge for 18 months, said his goodbyes to staff and players on Thursday morning. Chelsea, who are fifth in the Premier League after one win in seven games, visit City on Sunday. Liam Rosenior, the Strasbourg manager, is a leading contender to replace Maresca. Strasbourg are Chelsea’s partner club.

“Chelsea Football Club and head coach Enzo Maresca have parted company,” read a statement. “During his time at the club, Enzo led the team to success in the Uefa Conference League and the Fifa Club World Cup. Those achievements will remain an important part of the club’s recent history, and we thank him for his contributions to the club.

“With key objectives still to play for across four competitions including qualification for Champions League football, Enzo and the club believe a change gives the team the best chance of getting the season back on track. We wish Enzo well for the future.”

Maresca’s demise comes after an uncertain few weeks and him being booed by the home support after the 2-2 draw with Bournemouth at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday. The club were also baffled by him saying that “many people” had not supported him before the Everton game. Those remarks are viewed as the first of several self-inflicted wounds and offered a window into Maresca’s dissatisfaction with elements of the Chelsea project.

It did not help that Maresca refused to explain the reason behind his discontent. But sources with knowledge of the situation have said that the clash came down to him pushing the club to give him more room to ignore the medical department’s advice on protecting certain players. Chelsea have guarded against injuries by implementing a strict rotation policy and it is said that the head coach was informed by the sporting leadership team that he would not be allowed to overrule the medical department on return to play protocols. The aim is to protect the likes of Reece James, Pedro Neto and Wesley Fofana, all of whom have struggled with injuries in the past. Cole Palmer, Chelsea’s best player, has struggled with a persistent groin injury this season and is currently unable to play three full games a week.

Maresca’s mood has not been helped by receiving external criticism when rotation has led to disappointing results. He rotated heavily during the shock defeat to Leeds earlier last month and made substitutions with load management in mind when Chelsea lost to Atalanta in the Champions League a week later. The defeat to Atalanta came four days before Maresca’s “worst 48 hours” remarks.

Chelsea, though, feel there have been times when Maresca has ignored the data provided by the medical department. It was not viewed well when James, who has a long history of knee and hamstring problems, played three full games in the space of a week last month. The captain had not managed that since 2023.

Chelsea were equally unimpressed when Maresca was touted as a potential replacement for Guardiola. There have also been links with Juventus. There have been suggestions that Maresca wanted more power but Chelsea are not willing to alter a structure in which they have built an extensive recruitment team and focused on signing some of the best young talent in the game. Maresca’s request for a new centre-back when he lost Levi Colwill to injury before the start of the season went unanswered.

There is a feeling that Maresca’s behaviour has affected the team’s form. Chelsea have dropped 15 points from winning positions in the league this season, 13 of them at home. Further tension was created by Maresca saying he felt too unwell to do his press conference after the Bournemouth game. Club insiders were left surprised when Maresca’s assistant, Willy Caballero, spoke to the media. Caballero said the manager had been under the weather for two days but there were claims on Wednesday night that Maresca had actually made it clear that he did not want to conduct his usual press duties. It was said he was considering his options after growing dissatisfied with elements of the Chelsea project.

Chelsea’s preference had been to review Maresca’s position at the end of the season. Their patience ran out on Wednesday night, though, and they are looking for their fifth permanent head coach since being bought by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital in May 2022.

A handful of candidates are in the frame, including the Porto manager, Francesco Farioli, with Chelsea hopeful of making an appointment in the next few days. They may need an interim, however, to take charge at the Etihad Stadium. A move for Rosenior will also depend on the quality of replacement Strasbourg can find for the 41-year-old. Eric Ramsay, the manager of Minnesota United, is under consideration.