Chelsea boss Liam Rosenior has confirmed that Enzo Fernández has apologised for his comments about a move to Real Madrid, but that the midfielder will still miss Sunday’s game against Manchester City.
Fernández cast doubt on his future at Chelsea in an interview with ESPN Argentina after the Champions League defeat to Paris Saint-Germain, and then during the international break, when he said: “I’d like to live in Spain, I really like Madrid.”
Rosenior has confirmed that Fernández has now apologised, but that the club will not overturn an internal two-match suspension. He missed the FA Cup quarterfinal against Port Vale and is still unavailable for a crunch Premier League clash on Sunday at Stamford Bridge.
“I’ve had three or four really good conversations with Enzo,” Rosenior said. “He’s apologised to me, he’s apologised to the club. We’ll deal with that after a massive game on Sunday.
“It was a serious meeting about something very serious. Every single step along this way, I’m not questioning Enzo’s character, him as a person. I believe people make mistakes. But you can’t overstep the punishment for a mistake.
“What I want for Enzo is to go on from here to have an outstanding career.”
Rosenior then said that he hoped Fernández would play a “massive part” in Chelsea’s season after this Sunday’s game, but that there are a “few hurdles” for him to “overcome” to get back in the team.
Asked if Chelsea were shooting themselves in the foot by not playing one of their best players, Rosenior replied: “No. I’ve got an outstanding squad. Full of outstanding players. It’s still a very difficult team to pick, in terms of the starting XI. I need to get that right in the next few days.
“Football is a team sport. It’s not about individuals. It’s not about shooting yourself in the foot.
“There are certain values and cultures that I believe in, that this club believe in that makes the team stronger if you get that right.”—ESPN
