CHELSEA have taken a “massive, unnecessary risk” by banning Enzo Fernandez.
And it could backfire if the £107million star feels there is irreparable damage done to his relationship with the West Londoners as result.
That is the verdict of another famous South American midfielder who once wore the No8 shirt for the Blues, Gus Poyet.
Fernandez, 25, misses Sunday’s clash with Manchester City after being slapped with a two-game suspension imposed by his club for flirting with Real Madrid.
The punishment was handed down for an interview he did during the international break where he spoke of his love of the city of Madrid, amid interest from Spanish giants Real.
Blues boss Liam Rosenior revealed Fernandez had apologised for flirting with the Spanish giants but the club did not relent on their plan to leave him out against City this afternoon.
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Yet Poyet, who won the FA Cup with Chelsea in 2000, told SunSport via Gambling.com: “Sometimes when you make these decisions and you make them public, especially when it comes from the coach, the personality of the player plays a big role.
“Not everybody reacts the same way against one of these club decisions, supported by the coach.
“Some people will learn, put their head down and get through. Some people will say, ‘it’s over for you and me’.
“I don’t know which one is Enzo’s one.
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“I think Chelsea took a massive, unnecessary risk making it public through the manager.
“I wouldn’t like that (as a player).”
Fernandez claimed during the international break that he would “like to live in Spain, I really like Madrid”.
His agent Javier Pastore, the former Paris Saint-Germain and Argentina star, initially branded Chelsea’s punishment as “completely unfair”.
But Pastore then backtracked, claiming his client was “wrong” to say what he said following peace talks with the club.
Fernandez is not the only Chelsea star to give an eye-catching interview in recent weeks.
Spanish defender Marc Cucurella took aim at the club’s transfer policy last month for signing young players and claimed a move to Barcelona would be “difficult to turn down”.
Midfielder Moises Caicedo said “you never know in football” when asked by a Spanish newspaper if he could imagine himself “playing in white” – the colours of Real – though he then said he “had not thought about another club”.
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Poyet added: “In my understanding, there is not much different between what Enzo said, Caicedo said and Cucurella said, if you know football and know South American or Spanish-speaking players.
“They said more or less the same. One Madrid, one Barcelona and one any other options that come through.
“Why Enzo? Only Enzo? Why? Interesting, very interesting.”
Former Uruguay star Poyet, 58, won five trophies in four seasons at Chelsea between 1997 and 2001.
He also banged in 49 goals in 145 appearances, including a double in the FA Cup semi-final win over Newcastle in 2000.
Fernandez has already surpassed Poyet’s appearance haul for the Blues, reaching 161 and netting 28 goals since arriving from Benfica for his enormous fee in January 2022.
Imagining Putting himself in Fernandez’ shoes, Poyet added: “I put myself (in that situation) because I had that shirt number.
“If a club did that to me, with my personality, as a player, we have a problem.
“From what I’ve seen (the other players) were spectacular because they went to see the coach and asked him to reverse the situation for Man City and let him play because they think they need him.
“I’ll make an example, If Chelsea beat Man City, then the suspension is over. Do you play him the week after? You just won against Man City. Maybe he doesn’t play any more? £100million, eh? That’s expensive to lose!”
Gus Poyet was speaking with The sun via Gambling.com where players find the best online casinos in the UK