While the Blues have punished the player for his interviews, his representative has attempted to downplay suggestions that a move to Spain is being premeditated. Javier Pastore insists that his client's affinity for the city of Madrid was purely cultural rather than a professional snub toward London.
Defending the midfielder's controversial remarks, Pastore stated: “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, and 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, the weather. But at no point does he say he wants to leave Chelsea or London.”