Revealed: Pep Guardiola’s assistant leaves personal message for Enzo Maresca inside Man City offices | OneFootball

Newly-appointed Manchester City manager Enzo Maresca has been greeted by a personal message left behind in his new office by former assistant Pep Lijnders, as revealed in new footage from the club.

Maresca officially returned to Manchester City this week, taking charge as the club’s new manager following the departure of Pep Guardiola at the end of the 2025-26 season, and completing a homecoming to a club where he previously served as a coach during one of the most successful periods in its history.

The Italian’s connection to the Etihad Stadium runs deep, having managed the club’s Elite Development Squad and been credited as a key contributor to the historic 2022-23 Treble-winning campaign before departing to build his own managerial reputation at Leicester City and Chelsea.

His return has been warmly received across the club, and it appears that sentiment extends to former members of Guardiola’s backroom staff, with one in particular taking the time to leave a heartfelt gesture ahead of Maresca settling into his new surroundings at the City Football Academy.

Pepijn Lijnders, who served as Guardiola’s assistant last term, was the man behind the message, leaving a personal note for the incoming manager that has since been shared with supporters through the club’s official channels.

Report: Lijnders leaves heartfelt whiteboard note for Maresca

New footage released by Manchester City’s official website has revealed the personal message left behind on a whiteboard by Lijnders inside what will become Maresca’s new office at the City Football Academy.

“Make each day a masterpiece,” read a quote written on the board, offering a motivational note to set the tone for the new manager as he begins the next chapter of his career at the Etihad Stadium.

The message continued with a warm and personal tribute: “To Enzo, Want to wish you an unbelievable journey coming back to a place full of memories. Hope all goes well! Abraço, Pepijn.”

The gesture speaks to the sense of continuity and mutual respect that has characterised the transition at the top of Manchester City’s coaching structure, with Lijnders’ reference to “a place full of memories” acknowledging Maresca’s own history at the club long before his return as Guardiola’s permanent successor.

What does the gesture tell us about Maresca’s Man City return?

The warmth of Lijnders’ message underlines the extent to which Maresca’s return is being framed internally as a homecoming rather than a break with the past, with the Italian inheriting not only a squad but an entire footballing culture shaped over nearly a decade under Guardiola’s leadership.

That sense of continuity is likely to be an asset for Maresca as he begins the considerable task of reshaping the squad alongside director of football Hugo Viana, with the goodwill of those who contributed to the club’s most successful era providing a foundation of support as he sets about implementing his own ideas at the Etihad Stadium.

Small gestures of this nature rarely make headlines in the context of a summer dominated by the club’s ambitious rebuild and the record-breaking arrival of Elliot Anderson, but they offer a revealing glimpse into the human side of a managerial transition that has otherwise been defined by contract disputes and compensation negotiations.

Whether Maresca can build on the foundations laid by Guardiola and deliver the continued success that a message like Lijnders’ so clearly wishes for him remains the defining question of his tenure, but his return to a “place full of memories” has at least begun on a note of warmth and welcome at the City Football Academy.