Enzo Fernández has been dropped from Chelsea’s squad, manager Liam Rosenior announced at a press conference on Friday afternoon. The reason for this is Fernández’s links with Real Madrid.
Fernández is normally Chelsea’s vice-captain, but was allowed to wear the armband for the last two matches in the absence of the injured first-choice captain, Reece James. However, Fernández has failed to impress in that role.
Following the 8-2 defeat (over two legs) against PSG, Fernández surprised everyone with some comments about his future. “I don’t know,” he replied when asked by ESPN Argentina. “There are eight matches left and the FA Cup. There’s also the World Cup; after that, we’ll see. I think it would be nice to live in Madrid.”
The Telegraph also reported last week that Fernández had repeatedly berated his teammates during that poor run of form. As a result, a number of them were thoroughly unhappy with Fernández, given that unity is supposed to be paramount towards the end of the season.
The Argentine has now been dropped from the squad by manager Rosenior. “I spoke to him and told him he won’t be playing against Port Vale and Manchester City. He’s crossed the line. We have to impose this sanction.”
On Saturday, The Blues face Port Vale in the FA Cup quarter-finals. The following week, the Premier League match against Manchester City is on the schedule.