Chelsea plan to take legal action over City’s pursuit of Maresca

Chelsea are prepared to file a legal claim over Manchester City’s pursuit of former manager Enzo Maresca unless the Manchester club pays some compensation, The Sun reports.

Allegations were made against Maresca that he had spoken to City while still at Stamford Bridge, angering Chelsea management.

Now, with Maresca set to replace the outgoing Pep Guardiola, action could be taken if the two clubs cannot reach an agreement on compensation, according to reports.

If they do not agree, Chelsea could complain to the Premier League, which would investigate the matter.

Eghbali told the CAA World Sports Congress: “The change was not the club’s decision, for reasons I cannot legally speak about.

“I think the reasons will become clear in due time. But no, it is not a change we would want to make.”

He also admitted that the turmoil has affected performance on the field.

Read also:Enzo: Maresca gave Chelsea a clear identity

Eghbali added: “It is a change that has had a bit of a negative impact on the season, when systems and personnel are changed.

“And it’s something we have to fight our way out of.”

Maresca’s departure was a big surprise and few explanations were given at the time.

But SunSport understands that the Italian’s relationship with Chelsea bosses fell apart in December and led to a war of words.

Things went downhill when Maresca claimed he suffered his “worst 48 hours” at Stamford Bridge due to a lack of support following the Champions League defeat to Atalanta.

The Italian had also allegedly ignored advice from the club’s medical department on how long to keep players on the pitch, before the bombshell dropped about his talks with Man City and Juventus.

The Maresca team insisted at the time that they had informed the ‘bleus’ of the conversations with other clubs.