Enzo Maresca has left his role as Chelsea manager with the club sitting fifth in the Premier League. The Italian, 45, departs less than six months after winning the Club World Cup at the end of his first season at Stamford Bridge.

"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," Chelsea said.

The Blues have won just one of their past seven league matches and took only six points from six games in December to fall 15 points behind leaders Arsenal. But results are only a small part of the story.

Maresca, who had a contract due to run to 2029, delighted key figures at Stamford Bridge - including sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart, and influential co-owner Behdad Eghbali - by steering Chelsea to a top-four finish and winning the Conference League and Club World Cup last year.

Yet success soon turned to sourness in his relationship with the hierarchy. Maresca stunned even members of his own staff when - after beating Everton 2-0 for Chelsea's solitary Premier League win in December - he said "many people" had made it his "worst 48 hours" since joining the club.

Those comments came without any warning to club staff or senior management, who would have preferred any discussions to remain private. The relationship between the owners and manager was irreparable from then but friction had been brewing in the months before that.

Maresca had hoped to raise his profile following the Blues' successes through opportunities outside the club. He was planning to publish a book before being blocked, and spoke at Il Festival dello Sport - an event in Italy organised by La Gazzetta dello Sport newspaper - without the club's permission.

He also made public that he disagreed with the club not signing a central defender after Levi Colwill injured his anterior cruciate ligament in pre-season. The club's hierarchy explained that doing so could prompt academy prospect Josh Acheampong to request a transfer, which ultimately led Maresca to back down.

The former Leicester manager has also switched agents - from the Wasserman agency to Jorge Mendes - and has been talked of as a potential successor to Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, which Maresca has dismissed.

In addition, he has increasingly avoided wearing club tracksuits - opting instead for his own clothing. Following his last game with Chelsea - a 2-2 draw with Bournemouth on 30 December - assistant manager Willy Caballero said Maresca felt too unwell to do his post-match media duties, but it is understood his absence was more due to him considering his next steps.

It was noticeable that when Chelsea posted a 52-second video on social media on New Year's Eve summarising their year, there was no trace of Maresca.

The Italian, for his part, believed the pressure on him was unfair given what he felt were difficult working conditions, and that a line had been crossed in terms of attempts to influence his team selection.

While he was not angry about overseeing a young squad, he felt supporters' expectations needed to be managed regarding what was achievable - especially given key injuries to Colwill and attacker Cole Palmer.

Chelsea initially intended to assess his position at the end of the season if results improved, but Maresca's unhappiness was a factor in them parting ways sooner.

Chelsea's Spanish full-back Marc Cucurella reacted to the news of his manager's departure with a message on Instagram which read: "Thank you for everything, mister, and to your staff. For the work and the trust from day one, and for the memories! Wishing you all the best in what comes next. Good luck, boss!"

As it stands, the Blues will face Manchester City on Sunday without a manager and it is not known who will take charge of training before then. Caballero, who moved from Leicester alongside Maresca in 2024, deputised when the Italian served touchline bans, and with no announcement yet about his future, he could be an option.

When it comes to deciding a permanent appointment, former Hull boss Liam Rosenior, who has impressed as manager of Strasbourg - part of the same multi-club ownership structure as Chelsea, will be a candidate. Eghbali met Marseille manager Roberto de Zerbi in the summer and the club are admirers of his work.

They also interviewed Ipswich boss Kieran McKenna and Spurs manager Thomas Frank before appointing Maresca. Crystal Palace boss Oliver Glasner and Bournemouth counterpart Andoni Iraola are also likely to be considered.

Chelsea are now looking for their fifth permanent manager since being bought by their current ownership in May 2022. The higher that number gets, the more embarrassing the situation becomes for those owners and the people they have appointed to run the club.

While Chelsea fans were hardly universally positive in their views on Maresca, they are far more united in their dislike of sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart. These are the people who are appointing the managers who keep getting fired, and they surely must be the next to go after failing with yet another appointment.

Those failures, combined with their largely dire record in the transfer market since taking control in 2023, is more than enough evidence that they are a bigger problem than any individual coach. The ownership continue to take a lot of flak too, in part for keeping their faith in the sporting directors.

A new managerial appointment will be made in the coming days - but until things higher up the chain change, it seems inevitable that we're back in this same place in a year or two.

3 June 2024: Chelsea appoint Maresca on five-year contract after the Italian leads Leicester to the Championship title.

15 December 2024: Maresca leads Chelsea to seventh consecutive win in all competitions and they are second in the Premier League, but the Italian says they are "not ready" to win the title and have to be "realistic."

25 May 2025: Chelsea finish fourth in the Premier League and secure a place in the Champions League after a two-year absence.

28 May 2025: Chelsea, as was widely expected before the season, win the Europa Conference League, beating Real Betis 4-1 in the final.

13 July 2025: Chelsea win the Club World Cup for the second time, beating Champions League winners Paris St-Germain 3-0 in the final.

15 August 2025: Maresca says he wants Chelsea to sign a centre-back with Levi Colwill injured, but the club prefer an "internal solution."

13 December 2025: Maresca says he has had his "worst 48 hours" at the club after a 2-0 win over Everton.

30 December 2025: Maresca does not do post-match media after 2-2 draw with Bournemouth, with the club saying he is ill.

1 January 2026: Maresca and Chelsea part ways.