Enzo Fernandez’s agent has branded the Chelsea midfielder’s two-match ban by his club ‘completely unfair’ and cast serious doubt over the player’s future at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea were angered by Fernandez appearing to advocate for a move to European rivals Real Madrid during the international break.
Liam Rosenior said ‘a line was crossed’ and the club have taken the drastic action of banning their own player for games against Port Vale and Man City.
Fernandez’s agent, Javier Pastore, was extraordinarily bullish in his defence of the £107million midfielder, telling the Athletic: ‘The punishment is completely unfair — banning the player for two matches, which moreover are also absolutely crucial for Chelsea because qualification for the Champions League is at stake and he is one of the team’s most important players.
‘I think it’s far too harsh given Chelsea’s current situation, and there’s no real reason or justification for why he has been banned.’
Pastore also insisted the interview was blown out of proportion and said: ‘We don’t understand the punishment because he doesn’t mention any club or say he wants to leave Chelsea, far from it; he only mentions Madrid, the city, because he was asked which European city he’d like to live in one day.’
Enzo Fernandez has been sidelined for comments made during the international break about his future which ‘crossed the line’ – his agent has now hit back at the club
The agent went on to suggest that Chelsea may be frustrated at their rejection of contract renewal offers and accused the club of ‘not being realistic’ about what he deserves.
He then threatened: ‘Our plan after the World Cup is to meet with Chelsea again and, if there is no agreement, to explore other options.’
After defeat to Paris Saint-Germain, Fernandez publicly questioned his future at Stamford Bridge, before days later, in a livestream with Argentine channel SpiderCARP, he appeared to issue a come-and-get-me plea to sometime suitors Real Madrid.
Asked which other city he would like to live in, Fernandez replied: ‘Madrid… I like Madrid very much… it’s similar to Buenos Aires.’
Earlier on Friday, Rosenior addressed the situation, saying: ‘We spoke with Enzo an hour ago. As a football club, with me as part of that process, we’ve made a decision.
‘He won’t be available for tomorrow’s game (versus Port Vale) and he won’t be available for Manchester City on Sunday. For Enzo, it’s disappointing to speak in that way.
‘What I will say about Enzo is in terms of him as a character, as a person, I’ve got no bad words to say about him,’ his manager continued. ‘But I think a line was crossed in terms of our culture and what we want to build. So we had to make a sanction and that was a decision we’ve made.
‘As a character, as a person, as a player, I have the utmost respect for Enzo Fernandez. What he’s achieved in his career, the player that he is, he’s frustrated because he wanted Chelsea Football Club to be successful this year.
‘He still wants that and we still count him. In terms of the decision, I’ve said this from day one, it’s not all about just me. It’s not all about the sporting directors or the ownership or the players. We are aligned in every decision that we make. So it was a joint decision. I’m saying that the door is not closed on Enzo. That’s very important. It’s a sanction.
Javier Pastore, who used to play for PSG and Roma in his playing days, represented Fernandez
‘You have to protect, especially this football club, it’s a winning football club with traditions of success. You have to protect that culture. I think in terms of that, the line was crossed in the international break.’
Fernandez’s words angered Chelsea supporters and former players alike, including former Blues’ star John Obi Mikel.
Speaking on the Obi One Podcast, he said of Fernandez: ‘That’s not a leader. That’s something where if you have leaders, if you have leaders that players respect and look up to, you wouldn’t come out and make those statements because you’d be thinking, “How is this going to go down in the dressing room? How is this going to go down with the top players, the big players, when they see this?”
‘You were the captain in that game and you come out and make those statements… how would that go down well with the senior players in the dressing room?
‘He’s looked at it and he’s thinking, “Who the f*** is going to hold me responsible in that dressing room?” No one! The leadership is not there.
‘So he thinks, “I can come out, say whatever the f*** I want, no one is going to hold me responsible”, and that’s exactly what happened.’
A livid Mikel praised the progress he feels Fernandez has made with the Blues, but was clearly frustrated by the statement.
He added: ‘For him to come out and make such a statement after we’ve been disgracefully dumped out of the Champions League, and you come out after wearing the captain’s armband… no player is bigger than the football club.
‘If he’s had enough, put your hands up, f*** off and we move on. We move on. No player player is bigger than the football club, especially a club as huge as Chelsea.’
