LONDON (AP) 鈥� Enzo Fernandez’s immediate future at Chelsea remains up in the air.
The Argentina midfielder apologized for saying he wants to live in Madrid, but Chelsea manager Liam Rosenior confirmed Friday the player’s internal stands and that Fernandez still has 鈥渁 few hurdles鈥� to overcome.
The 25-year-old Fernandez sat out Chelsea’s 7-0 win over Port Vale in the FA Cup quarterfinals last weekend and will be kept out of Sunday’s Premier League game against Manchester City at Stamford Bridge.
鈥淗e won鈥檛 play on Sunday but, hopefully, after that, he鈥檒l be a massive part of the group moving forward,鈥� Rosenior said at a press conference.
鈥淭here鈥檚 still a few hurdles that need to be overcome that I won鈥檛 go into, but at the same time I want every player really, really focused now on a huge run-in.鈥�
The World Cup-winning playmaker was disciplined for saying on a podcast that he would like to live in Madrid 鈥� amid speculation of a move to Real Madrid.
鈥淗e鈥檚 apologized to me, he鈥檚 apologized to the club, and we鈥檒l deal with that after a massive game on Sunday,鈥� said Rosenior, who was . 鈥淚鈥檓 not questioning Enzo鈥檚 character, I鈥檓 not questioning who he is as a person. I believe people make mistakes. You can鈥檛 overstep the punishment for the mistake.鈥�
Rosenior continued: 鈥淲e鈥檝e made a sanction, we made a decision, I made a decision. What I want for Enzo is for him to go on here and have an outstanding career.鈥�
Chelsea is in sixth place and fighting for a Champions League spot with seven games left in the season.
鈥淔ootball is a team sport, it鈥檚 not about individuals,鈥� Rosenior said. 鈥淭here are certain values and cultures that I believe in, that this club believes that makes the team stronger if you get that right.鈥�
Fernandez joined Chelsea from Benfica for a then-British record fee of 107 million pounds ($143 million) in early 2023.
___
AP soccer:
Copyright © 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
