Enzo Fernandez has been sanctioned by Chelsea after appearing to advocate for a move to European rivals Real Madrid during the international break.
‘I spoke with Enzo an hour ago,’ Liam Rosenior said on Friday. ‘As a football club, we’ve made a decision.
‘He won’t be available for tomorrow’s game and he won’t be available for Manchester City.’
Rosenior went on to describe Fernandez’s interview as ‘disappointing’, adding that ‘a line was crossed’.
The midfielder will now be omitted from Chelsea’s next two matchday squads: against Port Vale in their FA Cup clash on Saturday, and to face Manchester City in Premier League action next week.
The manager also held a meeting with Marc Cucurella on Thursday, after the Spain international seemingly criticised Chelsea’s transfer strategy, and the sacking of former manager Enzo Maresca, in a wide-ranging interview during the break.
Enzo Fernandez has been sidelined for comments made during the international break about his future which ‘crossed the line’
But the defender stressed that he wanted to stay in west London, and unlike his team-mate, will be available for Saturday’s squad.
In a livestream with Argentine channel SpiderCARP, he was asked which other city he would like to live in.
Fernandez replied: ‘Madrid…I like Madrid very much…it’s similar to Buenos Aires.’
Cucurella griped that Chelsea’s two-legged defeat to Paris Saint-Germain suggested that ‘we are still a bit away from the top level’.
‘I understand this is part of the club’s policy, and that they want to take this direction – signing young players and looking to the future,’ he said. ‘But, for all of us who are still here and want to win big things, moments like this make you feel discouraged.
‘We have a good core of players. The foundations are there. But to fight for major trophies, you need more. Signing young players only might complicate achieving those goals. Against PSG, we lacked players that had gone through situations like that.’
