Chelsea punish Enzo for openly flirting with Real Madrid
“He crossed a line in terms of our culture and what we want to build. It’s a suspension for the next two matches,” explained coach Rosenior on behalf of the club.
Chelsea manager Liam Rosenior confirmed that Enzo Fernández has been dropped from the squad for this Saturday’s FA Cup match against Port Vale and next week’s showdown with Manchester City — a disciplinary decision made by the club after the midfielder openly flirted with Real Madrid in recent interviews.
“I spoke with Enzo about 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 match and he won’t be available for Manchester City, next Sunday,” Rosenior told the media. “I think 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 but I think a line was crossed in terms of our culture and what we want to build.”
Rosenior emphasized that the punishment isn’t personal but action needed to be taken as the team’s “emotional stability” had been affected and that was reflected in results.
“Enzo, firstly, as a character, as a person as a player, I have the utmost respect for Enzo Fernández as a person and as a player - for what he’s achieved in his career, the player that he is. He’s frustrated because he wanted Chelsea Football Club us to be successful this year. He still wants that and we still can be.
“In terms of the decision, I’ve said this from Day 1, it’s not all just about me. It’s not all about the sporting directors, or the ownershipe or the players — we are aligned in every decision that we make. So it was a joint decision. And saying that, the door is not closed on Enzo. That’s very important. It’s a sanction. You have to protect, especially this football club - this is a winning football club with traditions of success, you have to protect that culture, and I think in terms of that, the line was crossed in the international break.”
Enzo’s comments about Madrid sparked the fallout
At 25, Fernández is already on the radar of several top European clubs. During the international break, he gave an interview on YouTube with Avirales where he openly discussed his future.
“I’d love to live in Spain. I really like Madrid — it reminds me of Buenos Aires. I’d live in Madrid. A footballer lives wherever he wants,” he said.
And after Chelsea’s Champions League loss to PSG, he added more fuel to the fire: “I don’t know. There are eight games left and then the FA Cup. Then there’s the World Cup, and then we’ll see.”
Those remarks — combined with the timing and the growing speculation — led Chelsea to suspend him for two matches for what the club considers a breach of its internal code of conduct.
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