Benfica manager on Chelsea’s attempts to sign Enzo Fernández: “It’s disrespectful”
Benfica coach, Roger Schmidt, exploded at a press conference against Chelsea’s attitude in their attempt to sign Enzo Fernández.
Enzo Fernández has only been in Portugal for six months after Benfica paid €14 million to Argentinian giants River Plate in July. The 21-year-old is attracting attention in Europe after a strong showing at the 2022 World Cup, where he became a world champion with Argentina. Fernández has helped his team to a 22-game unbeaten run and to win their Champions League group despite the presence PSG and Juventus. He then went on to establish himself in Argentina’s eleven and won FIFA’s award for Young Player of the Tournament.
Chelsea want Enzo Fernández
Although he has just announced himself on the global stage, Chelsea look set to break the bank for the talented midfielder. Their latest offer of almost €90 million included Hakim Ziyech and two more players on loan.
“Enzo is a very good boy and a fantastic football player. We like him a lot. We love him. We want him to stay at Benfica. Of course, the situation for him is not so easy because he played at the World Cup, he became world champion. He got offers and there is a lot of money on the table which, when you are a young player and you think about that, it confuses you a bit. I think that is something that everyone can understand,” Roger Schmidt, Benfica’s head coach said.
“We don’t want to sell Enzo, not me or the president. Nobody wants to sell him at this club. We know there is a termination clause, if he wants to leave, we might lose the player. There is a club that wants the player. They know we don’t want to sell the player. They tried to get the player on their side and they know that they can only get this player when they pay the clause. So, it’s a very clear situation what the club is doing. It’s disrespectful against all of us, against Benfica, and I cannot accept what they are doing. To make the player crazy and then they to pretend they can pay the clause and later they want to negotiate.”
The Benfica coach criticised Fernández on Thursday for travelling to Argentina to celebrate New Year’s Eve against club orders. “He didn’t have permission to go to Argentina and missed training, that’s not acceptable, so there will be consequences,” Schmidt added.