Top Goldman Sachs banker Jim Esposito retires as CEO David Solomon makes clear he’s not going anywhere

A top Goldman Sachs banker who was seen as a candidate to one day succeed embattled CEO David Solomon revealed he is retiring — a surprise exit that signals Solomon’s consolidation of power, according to reports.

Jim Esposito, 56 — a college wrestling enthusiast who played a key role in the merger of Goldman’s investment banking and trading units — made the decision to leave after it became clear that the path to eventually becoming CEO or president was blocked, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Solomon — who has irked the rank-and-file with a sharp-elbowed management style and botched strategic moves — has made it clear that he has no plans to step aside in the near future, sources told The Journal.

Esposito, meanwhile, had emerged as one of the key internal critics of Solomon’s ill-fated foray into consumer banking — a move that the bank has mostly abandoned, Bloomberg reported on Monday.

The New Jersey-born banker’s standing at Goldman had “taken a hit” after making a “vocal push” for Goldman to return its focus to the key divisions he led and abandon a search for new business lines, according to the outlet.

Esposito — whose quirky communications to staffers included a memo that tied asset prices to pop star Lady Gaga’s stolen dogs, according to Bloomberg — told employees in a Monday missive that he lately had “a feeling of merely going through the motions which isn’t in my DNA nor what makes this place special.”