Enzo Fernandez has revealed that the process of moving from Benfica to Chelsea in 2023 was "a month of a lot of chaos".
Fernandez was a relative unknown when he left River Plate for the Portuguese giants in the summer of 2022, but his career changed once he helped Argentina win the 2022 World Cup.
Prior to the competition in Qatar, Fernandez had made just three appearances for his country, but he featured in all seven games - including playing the four knockout ties in their entirety - as Argentina lifted the Jules Rimet trophy.
Once back at Benfica, the midfielder - who turned 22 in January 2023 - was in high demand, and the Primeira Liga outfit faced constant speculation as Chelsea bid to finalise a big-money deal for a player who had a €121m (£106.57m) release clause despite having cost just €18m (£15.85m) six months earlier.
Having played hardball over the insistence of the buy-out option being activated, Benfica ultimately agreed to sell Fernandez to Chelsea for £106.8m, a transfer that is believed to be being paid in instalments.
Chelsea's Enzo Fernandez celebrates scoring on August 30, 2025
Fernandez opens up on Chelsea transfer
Speaking in an exclusive interview with Koora Break, Fernandez admitted that it had been a period of uncertainty before he was given the green light to move to Stamford Bridge.
Fernandez said: "It was a month of a lot of chaos, transfers that were happening, transfers that weren't happening. Uh, I was very young at that time too.
"The truth is that incredible things were happening to me in football, but at that time, obviously, that month was all very crazy because one week I was going to Chelsea, the next week I wasn't going.
"That's how it was until the end of the month, uh, so nothing, it ended up happening on the last day of the market, a very high-value transfer and well, I think it was as it was and I tried to obviously enjoy it in the last few weeks. If it happened, great, and if it didn't, in the end I was at a club like Benfica that gave me everything, but it was crazy. It finally happened.
"Today I am in Chelsea. Uh, I went through an incredible process here at the club with many changes and well, today I feel very good with a group of people who are my teammates, with whom I share every day, with the coaching staff. The truth is that I feel very happy today."
Enzo Fernandez celebrates after scoring for Chelsea on October 22, 2025
Is Fernandez proving to be value for money?
There has been a strong argument at times during his spell with Chelsea that Fernandez has not delivered on his hefty price-tag.
However, as well as having 20 goals and 24 assists from 131 appearances in all competitions, the 23-year-old has Conference League and Club World Cup silverware to his name.
He has also featured in 46 of Chelsea's last 49 Premier League fixtures - contributing nine goals and eight assists - at a time when Enzo Maresca has established the club as contenders for the top four in the table.
While supporters will want more of the same, and perhaps more in general, from Fernandez, he has arguably provided as much as humanly possible to this Chelsea squad, as well as being a leadership figure when he remains just 24 himself.
ID:585878:1false2false3false: from db desktop :LenBod:collect4504: