Enzo Fernandez’s agent, Javier Pastore, says they have held clear-the-air talks with Chelsea, and that his client has apologised for the interviews he conducted over the international break.
Blues boss Liam Rosenior last week revealed the club had handed their own vice-captain a two-game ban – to be served against Port Vale in the FA Cup and Manchester City in the Premier League – for flirting with Real Madrid while away with the Argentinian national team.
Pastore initially blasted that punishment as ‘completely unfair’ with the intermediary adding they would ‘explore other options’ this summer if Chelsea failed to meet their demands amid a deadlock in new-deal talks.
However, Pastore has now backtracked on those comments in another interview, this time with French football website Top Mercato, as he claimed the situation has been resolved in private.
‘We have already spoken about this over the last few days,’ said Pastore, the former Paris Saint-Germain midfielder. ‘These were comments he made with no intention of causing problems at Chelsea.
‘He is the captain, one of the leaders of the team. He has shown his best side on the pitch this season. He only spoke about a city (Madrid). Then there were many interviews in a short space of time where he talked about his future. The media mixed a lot of things together and started saying he was going to leave Chelsea. There is nothing at all to it.
Enzo Fernandez has held clear-the-air talks with Chelsea after his comments during the international break
The player’s agent Javier Pastore has given another interview in quick succession confirming that Fernandez and his club are on the same wavelength
‘We are on the same wavelength with Chelsea. We made peace yesterday and the day before between Chelsea and the player. There was never really a problem. We have cleared things up.
‘What happened, happened. We explained to the player that, even if he did nothing wrong, he should not have said that. He is only 25 years old. He is still young and still has things to learn. We explained to the club that he said it without any malice and that he was wrong to do so.
‘He naturally apologised to the club, his team-mates, the manager, the sporting director, everyone. We are all on the same page. It was simply a matter of clearing up a misunderstanding.’
It remains to be seen whether Chelsea will lift Fernandez’s in-house ban for the visit of City to Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
Liam Rosenior will confirm one way or another at his pre-match press conference, to be held on Friday afternoon at Cobham.
Fernandez, 25, is contracted to Chelsea until 2032.
