Fernandes has been linked with a move to Los Blancos, and when asked on Argentine channel SpiderCARP which city he would like to live in, the midfielder replied: “Madrid…I like Madrid very much…It’s similar to Buenos Aires.”
This sparked anger from Chelsea’s fan base, with Mikel also making his feelings known on the latest episode of the Obi Wan Podcast. Mikel slammed the 25-year-old’s comments, saying: “That’s not a leader. If you have a leader, and you have a leader that the players look up to and respect, they wouldn’t come out and say things like that.”
“You think, ‘What will happen to this in the dressing room? What will happen if the top players and big players see this?'” You were the captain in that game (against Paris Saint-Germain) and for you to go out and say something like that… how would the senior players in the dressing room think? ”
“For him to come out and say something like that when we’ve been disgracefully kicked out of the Champions League and come out with the captain’s armband on… There’s no one bigger than a football club. If he’s had enough, raise your hand, fuck you, then we move on. We move on. There’s no one bigger than a football club, especially one as big as Chelsea.”
Mikel continued his criticism, adding: “You can’t come out and say that. It doesn’t matter what’s going on. It doesn’t matter what’s going on. You’re paid a lot of money to be at this football club and you should be grateful that you’re playing for a club like Chelsea. To come out and say something like that is very disrespectful to the football club and the fans.”
Fernandes will be keen to make his statement on the pitch when Chelsea return to action after the international break. The Blues had a favorable result against Port Vale in the FA Cup quarter-finals and will host Manchester City at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League the following week. Liam Rosenior’s side find themselves one point behind fifth-placed Liverpool in their bid to qualify for the Champions League.
