Former Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel has torn into Enzo Fernandez after the Blues midfielder cast public doubt on his future.
The 25-year-old, who joined the Blues in a £108million move in 2023, first raised eyebrows after the team’s Champions League exit to Paris Saint-Germain, insisting he does not know what will happen this summer.
And while on international duty with his country, Fernandez once again hinted at a Chelsea exit when, in a livestream with Argentine channel SpiderCARP, he was asked which other city he would like to live in.
Fernandez replied: ‘Madrid… I like Madrid very much… it’s similar to Buenos Aires.’
Fans have made their frustrations towards the World Cup winner known, and Mikel has done exactly the same. 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?
John Obi Mikel (pictured) has taken aim at Enzo Fernanez for comments surroudning his Chelsea future
Fernandez (right) cast doubt on his future while he said this week that he ‘loves Madrid’
‘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.
‘You cannot come out and say that, it doesn’t matter what is going on. It doesn’t matter what is happening, you’re being paid handsomely to be at this football club, you should be grateful that you’re playing for a club like Chelsea.
‘When you come out and make that statement, that is very, very disrespectful to the football club and to the fans.’
The Blues remain in a period of transition following the sacking of Enzo Maresca earlier this season, with Liam Rosenior enduring an indifferent start to life as the new boss.
Mikel highlighted how it could be hard for Chelsea to hold on to the likes of Cole Palmer (left), Marc Cucurella (centre) and Moises Caicedo (right)
Rosenior’s side are in a fight to qualify for next season’s Champions League, and, should they fail to do so, may find it a battle to hold onto some of their top stars, according to Mikel.
‘Right now, we have players like Cole Palmer, players like Enzo Fernandez, Marc Cucurella, Moises Caicedo,’ Mikel added. ‘When they start getting phone calls from the likes of Real Madrid…
‘Florentino Perez (Real Madrid president) is a master in stealing players from clubs. He puts in this bid and you can’t refuse, you can’t refuse a phone call from Florentino Perez.
‘That’s why I question it (Chelsea’s model) and that’s why I say: what is the objective? The objective of this club has to be winning, winning trophies.’
