After three-and-a-half years, Fernandez's time at Chelsea has come to an end following his £106.8m arrival from Benfica. He went on to make 170 appearances in all competitions, scoring 31 goals and contributing 30 assists.
But winning the Conference League and Club World Cup at Chelsea was not enough for Fernandez, who joined Chelsea after winning the World Cup with Argentina in 2022, as a result of their failure to qualify for European football this season.
Maresca's departure from Chelsea at the beginning of the year, before joining Man City to succeed Pep Guardiola, prompted Fernandez to request to leave following failed contract negotiations with the Blues hierarchy.
He has signed a five-year contract at the Etihad, becoming the first player to command a £100m plus transfer fee on two occasions.
After lengthy negotiations throughout the summer, the final agreement was reached on Monday, on deadline day.
Chelsea initially set a deadline of August 14 for Man City to meet their initial £120m asking price, to avoid any distractions heading into the 2026-27 season. No offer came and no contact was made by Man City to the Blues.
It all came down to deadline day for a deal to be struck.
As reported by [David Ornstein](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7514317/2026/09/01/enzo-fernandez-man-city-chelsea-transfer/), Man City had offered £104m plus add-ons, but Chelsea asked for a fixed fee.
Then, on Monday, Chelsea said they wanted £135m, at which point City said they were walking away, before a compromise was reached at £125m.
Chelsea looked to have found a replacement for Fernandez in a late swoop for AS Monaco's Lamina Camara, after agreeing on a €55m fee for the midfielder, but the Ligue 1 side pulled the plug at the last minute.
The Blues had the chance to cancel the Fernandez deal late on, but they chose to honour their word to Man City and the Argentine.
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