Chelsea have suspended Enzo Fernandez for the next two matches, manager Liam Rosenior has confirmed.
Vice-captain Fernandez cast major doubt on his Blues future when speaking over the international break amid links with Real Madrid.
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“I really like Madrid, it’s similar to Buenos Aires,” he said in an interview when asked if he could live in another country.
When pressed on whether or not he could call Madrid home, the 25-year-old-replied: “Yes, of course.”
It came after a damning assessment of the club’s recent decisions following the 8-2 aggregate defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League.
Marc Cucurella echoed the Argentine’s comments during a dramatic international break for the west Londoners.
talkSPORT understands Fernandez is open to joining Madrid in the summer, but has not directly told Chelsea that he wants to leave.
Head coach Rosenior has now revealed the midfielder, who cost Chelsea £106.8million in 2023, has been formally sanctioned by the club.
Fernandez will miss the FA Cup visit of Port Vale on Saturday, live on talkSPORT, and the Premier League clash with Manchester City as sixth-place Chelsea fight to save their season.
Rosenior: We had to sanction Fernandez
“I spoke with Enzo an hour ago. As a football club, with me as part of that process, we’ve made a decision. He won’t be available for tomorrow’s games, and he won’t be available for Manchester City next Sunday,” he confirmed his press conference.
“I think for Enzo, It’s disappointing to speak in that way. What I will say about Enzo is, in terms of him as a character, as a person, I’ve got no bad words to say about him.
“But I think a line was crossed, in terms of our culture and what we want to build. So, we had to make a sanction, and that was a decision we’ve made.”
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On the vice-captain’s future, he added: “I can’t speak for him.
“What I do know is when he’s been on the pitch, even at Everton, when we lost the game, really disappointing performance, there was no lack of commitment in his performance, there was no lack of wanting the club to do well.
“In terms of speaking for him, or what he wants in his future, that’s not for me to speak about. I want to focus on a massive game tomorrow where if we win, we can make an FA Cup semi-final.
“I want to focus on us still making the Champions League, which is a big possibility.”
What about Cucurella?
Rosenior confirmed Cucurella would be not be sanctioned, despite his criticism of the club, describing his interview as a ‘separate case’.
“I had a fantastic conversation with Marc yesterday, half an hour in my office.
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“The disappointing thing for me, what we’re trying to create here in my time… I’ve only been here coming up to three months… I’m enjoying it, even the difficult moments.
“I want players… I’ve said to them from day one, if they’ve got any issue with how we do things, to come and speak to me, and speak to the sporting directors.
“My disappointment in Marc’s interview was where it went to, I think he should’ve spoken to us first about the things that he’s feeling.
“I want players to feel like they can speak openly and honestly for the benefit of the football club, and those conversations we’ve had with Reece James, that’s why Reece has signed a new contract, because he believes in where we’re going.
“As a football club, we know we need to improve, myself included, and we actually know what we’re going to do in the summer to achieve those objectives.”
When asked about a potential sanction for Cucurella, Rosenior said: “No, that’s a separate case. Marc is available, and will be involved in the game tomorrow.”
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talkSPORT reaction to Fernandez decision
Speaking about the news shortly after it broke live on talkSPORT, Gabby Agbonlahor backed Rosenior’s decision when he said: “I like it. It shows no player is bigger than the club.
“People have been mocking Liam Rosenior, that he’s a ‘yes man’, that’s why they brought him in. But he’s made a big choice here because Enzo Fernandez, World Cup winner, probably a big character in the dressing room, to drop him for two important games…
“Yes, Port Vale, they win without him, but Manchester City is an important game, Chelsea need top five, they need their best players.
“So, to drop him for that, I rate it highly from Liam Rosenior and the football club.”
Agbonlahor then vented his frustrations with players speaking about other clubs in the media.
“These players need to stop,” he insisted. “Rodri did it a few weeks ago as well (spoke on potential Madrid move from City), stop talking about other football clubs, Cucurella as well.
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“Shut up, and get your club out of the mess that they’re in.”
He added: “What’s wrong with these players now, this generation of players?
“If we ever did that… Martin O’Neill would probably punch you across the jaw, if you ever would speak out like this about going to a different club. These players are brave now, it’s a different era.”
Tune in below for live reaction and listen to our GameDay Phone-In with Chelsea fan Jason Cundy at 5.30pm today.