Enzo Fernandez and his agent have apologised to Chelsea for comments he made while on international duty in Argentina.
Fernandez said in interviews that he would welcome living in Madrid, leaving the door open to moving to Real Madrid in the summer.
No talks have been held about selling Fernandez and he has a Chelsea contract until 2032.
As a result of those comments, Chelsea head coach Liam Rosenior announced last Friday that Fernandez would not be in the squad for two matches – the 7-0 win over Port Vale last Saturday and this weekend’s game against Manchester City on Sunday, live on Sky Sports.
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Real Madrid will sign a midfielder this summer and Fernandez is one of their targets. He is valued at more than £100m but Chelsea are not trying to sell the player.
Fernandez is one of the players seeking improved terms on his Chelsea contract – but his cause will not have been helped by the comments he made in Argentina.
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Paul Merson and Clinton Morrison both disagree with Liam Rosenior and Chelsea’s decision to drop Enzo Fernandez following comments he made about his future.
What did Fernandez and his agent say?
Fernandez has been regularly linked with a summer move to Real and he cast doubt over his Chelsea future after their heavy Champions League last-16 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain, telling ESPN Argentina “I don’t know” when asked if he would still be at the club next season.
“My focus is here now. Then the World Cup coming up, so we’ll see after that,” he added.
During his time with Argentina in the international break, Fernandez told Marcos Giles, a media personality, “I really like Madrid – it’s similar to Buenos Aires”.
Fernandez was then questioned on whether he would consider living in Madrid, saying: “Yes, of course.”
Speaking last Friday about Fernandez’s punishment, Rosenior said: “A line was crossed in terms of our culture. We had to make a sanction.”
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Chelsea head coach Liam Rosenior explains why he has dropped Enzo Fernandez over comments he made about his future and links to Real Madrid.
The Chelsea midfielder’s agent – Javier Pastore – then branded the decision to drop Fernandez for two games as “completely unfair.”
Pastore said: “Enzo didn’t understand the situation. When the coach told him, he accepted it because he’s a highly professional guy who’s always fully committed wherever he is and respects decisions.
“But 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.
“He said Madrid because of the language, because it’s similar to Buenos Aires and because it’s logical – it’s only natural for an Argentine to say that – and also because of the culture and the weather. But at no point does he say he wants to leave Chelsea or London.”
Pastore also revealed talks over a new contract have stalled, adding: “There have been talks about renewing his contract, yes. We started discussing it around December or January, but we couldn’t reach an agreement.
“As Enzo’s contract still has six years to run, we decided not to renew it because the terms weren’t right for us or for the player. Given what Enzo is capable of today, he deserves much more than he’s currently earning.
“We haven’t reached an agreement and it may be that this annoyed the club, given that he is a hugely important player, but these are things that have to be managed.
“We felt that rather than renewing on terms that wouldn’t make the player happy, it was better to leave things as they are and focus on playing and performing well. We don’t want to get into discussions about figures, contracts and negotiations when the timing wasn’t right.
“Our plan after the World Cup is to meet with Chelsea again and, if there is no agreement, to explore other options.”
Speaking after the 7-0 win over Port Vale – the last time the Chelsea head coach has commented on the situation publicly – Rosenior said: “Me and Enzo are in a very good place. I saw him today [Saturday]. I had a really good conversation with him on a one-to-one. Things aren’t what people maybe think they are.
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Liam Rosenior responds to Enzo Fernandez’ agent Javier Pastore who labelled the decision to sanction the midfielder as ‘unfair’ and says their relationship is in a ‘very good place’.
Asked about the comments of Fernandez’s agent Javier Pastore, Rosenior said: “That’s his opinion. I don’t have anything to say on someone else’s opinion.
“Enzo knows what I think of him and it was brilliant to see him here to support the players today. We’ll move forward and make sure we have a really good run-in to the season.”
