Chelsea news: Marc Cucurella reveals frustration over Enzo Maresca exit

By Darren Plant | 31 Mar 2026 12:52

Marc Cucurella has suggested that Chelsea should have done more to retain the services of Enzo Maresca.

The Italian’s reign at Stamford Bridge came to a surprise end at the start of 2026, a consequence of disagreements behind the scenes and speculation of Maresca being on Manchester City’s shortlist to replace Pep Guardiola.

Having been impressed with his work in France, BlueCo made the decision to move Liam Rosenior from his role at Strasbourg to Chelsea.

Although Rosenior has recorded 10 wins from 19 fixtures, a four-game losing streak that has featured three matches without a goal has led to unease at the West Londoners.

Speaking in an interview with The Athletic, Cucurella has revealed his admiration for the Englishman, but he feels that his boss and the players have been left negatively impacted by BlueCo’s decision.

‘Chelsea have no time to learn Rosenior’s ideas’

Cucurella stressed that the lack of time on the training pitch to adapt to Rosenior’s style of play is causing problems. Rosenior, himself, has been insistent that he is right to change tactics.

The Spaniard said: “Liam is a very good person and has been great at handling the group, the characters. He likes to stay close to us and his football ideas are good, but we don’t have the time to train them.

“We train on (playing in) competitive games, because we play every three days and that leaves you with no time to work on the training ground. In this context, it is normal that your plans sometimes don’t work out, and then we go through difficult moments.

“With Enzo Maresca in charge, we were more stable, because we worked together for 18 months. If you look at our first pre-season with him, there were doubts. You need a process for every player to understand what we need to do. In our last months with Maresca, we played almost by heart. If we changed the system, we knew what we had to do. You need that time.”

On Maresca’s exit, Rosenior felt that BlueCo were too hasty in facilitating his departure, adding: “We knew what Maresca wanted from us. Winning a title like the Club World Cup (beating PSG 3-0 in the final) also helps, strengthens the bond, and you create great relationships during the celebrations. When a manager gives you that confidence and offers you a platform to fight for titles, you’d die for him.

“The moment Maresca left, it had a big impact on us. These are decisions taken by the club. If you asked me, I would not have made this decision. To make a change like that, the best thing is to wait until the end of the season. You would give everyone, the players and the new manager, time to get ready, have a full pre-season.”

Is Cucurella right to voice frustrations?

There has been criticism for how Enzo Fernandez has openly talked up a potential transfer to Real Madrid in the summer.

Cucurella has also hinted that a future return to Barcelona is a possibility, but he is also taking the chance to air his concerns over BlueCo’s approach.

As well as speaking on Rosenior and Maresca, the 27-year-old feels that Chelsea’s hierarchy must tinker with their approach to the transfer market.

If more than one player is being more vocal in the media than you would usually expect, it suggests that some senior members of the squad are growing disillusioned with the trajectory of the project under BlueCo.

Written by

Darren Plant