Alex Grimaldo has explained just how damaging Enzo Fernandez’s transfer to Chelsea was for Benfica.
Grimaldo and Fernandez were teammates at Benfica for a brief period before the midfielder’s record £107m move to Chelsea in 2023.
Fernandez had not been at the Estadio da Luz for long, having only arrived there in the summer of 2022, yet he quickly became an important player for his new club.
Grimaldo has now discussed the impact that his move to Stamford Bridge had on the team.
Alex Grimaldo of SL Benfica celebrates with Enzo Fernandez
Photo by Octavio Passos/Getty Images
Alex Grimaldo claims Benfica missed Enzo Fernandez’s conducting in midfield
Despite losing their star midfielder, Benfica would still go on to win the 2023 Portuguese league title.
However, Benfica were knocked out of the Champions League quarter-finals by Inter Milan before then, with Grimaldo claiming that losing Fernandez and his orchestrating in midfield “killed” them.
“Enzo left in January and that killed us; he didn’t do much damage,” the defender, who now plays for Bayer Leverkusen, told TNT Sports. “[But] everything in the team went through him; he organised everything.
“He [his exit] hurt us especially in the Champions League, because in Liga we still had a great team, but in the Champions League, which was already a step up, he was a differential player. In the end, it’s football. I think they paid around €120m, what are you going to do?”
Chelsea did not win anything in the 2022/23 season, and it was a similar theme the campaign after.
However, the Blues finally managed to get their hands on some silverware last term after going all the way in the Club World Cup and Conference League.
Their performance in those tournaments justified Fernandez’s move to Chelsea in the end, with the Argentine even managing to score in the Conference League final.
Enzo Maresca has hinted that Fernandez could be rested for Wednesday night’s Carabao Cup tie against Wolverhampton Wanderers, but that is another trophy that the 24-year-old will now be hoping to win.
Enzo Fernandez during Chelsea vs Ajax
Photo by Visionhaus/Getty Images
Enzo Fernandez’s passing stats at Chelsea this season
It is not hard to understand why everything was going through Fernandez when he was at Benfica. The World Cup winner is superb on the ball.
Some of his passing stats at Chelsea this season are solid. For example, he is currently completing 1.4 key passes per game in the Premier League, which is the fourth-highest average in Chelsea’s squad, according to WhoScored.
Enzo Fernandez’s passing stats Per game
Average passes 57.4
Key passes 1.4
Long balls 1.6
Pass success rate 84.5%
Ultimately, Benfica’s loss has been Chelsea’s gain and will continue to be, as Fernandez has a contract until 2032.