Enzo Fernandez made Chelsea’s foundations tremble when he let himself be courted by Real Madrid. British journalist Jonathan Wilson wrote an interesting article in The Guardian in which he explains the reasons for the harsh punishment received by the Argentine player, who was sidelined for two matches by coach Liam Rosenior. His ‘crime’ was to say, during an interview with streamers, that he would like to live in Madrid, which everyone interpreted as a clear nod to a possible move to Real Madrid
Wilson defended the player for his comment. “Madrid is much more like Buenos Aires, where Fernandez grew up, than London. It’s not unreasonable for an Argentine in Argentina to reflect on that,” he explained. For the British journalist, this was just the excuse that Todd Boehly, Chelsea’s owner, used to try to hide the fact that the philosophy put in place by the club, with Enzo Fernandez as an example, no longer works.
Enzo Fernandez puts Chelsea’s model in check
“When they took over promising to revolutionise traditional football, their plan was to sign young players on long-term contracts, with a relatively low base salary but with high incentives. Let them develop and grow together. Which is fine, until you start dealing with footballers, very few of whom expect to see out a contract, let alone an eight-and-a-half-year one, without improvements or a possible transfer. There is a hierarchy of clubs and the truth is that if a 107 million player performs well enough at Chelsea to justify that price tag, the chances are that elite clubs will be interested in him, regardless of how well Chelsea perform,” he said.
“Clubs cannot build title-winning teams with just young prospects. As they grow, young players will want more: more money, more challenges, more success. However, to admit this is to acknowledge the fatal flaw in Chelsea’s project. Fernandez is, in essence, the child who has exposed the emperor’s nakedness”, Wilson explained.
“Football is different, not least because sacking a player would simply facilitate their departure, with no need for awkward negotiations over a financial settlement. And, on the other hand, players’ careers and contracts are short and clubs are ruthless in moving them on once they have outlived their usefulness; it is only fair that a player who is nearing the end of his contract can negotiate, at least, with relative freedom. Given the regulations on direct contact with the club (although they are not enforced with any particular rigour), it is practically the only way a player can announce his availability and put pressure on his current employers,” he reasoned. That is precisely what Enzo Fernandez is trying to do.
