Chelsea star Enzo Fernandes recently hinted at a summer move to Real Madrid, putting his future at Stamford Bridge in doubt, leaving John Obi Mikel upset
Enzo Fernandes sparked a backlash with his comments (Image: Federico Peretti/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Furious after the Chelsea star dropped multiple hints about a potential move to Real Madrid, manager John Obi Mikel told Enzo Fernandes: “If you’ve had enough, quit.” Fernandes, 25, recently hit the headlines after revealing he could leave Chelsea after this summer’s World Cup, amid links with the Spanish giants.
And in recent days, the Argentina international has further fueled speculation by praising the city of Madrid and naming club legends Toni Kroos and Luka Modric as two of his idols. Fernandes’ comments cast doubt on his commitment to Chelsea, who signed for the Blues in 2023 for a staggering £108m.
Mikel became the most high-profile person to criticize the midfielder, who is Chelsea’s vice-captain, labeling the insinuations as “extremely disrespectful”. The former Blues star began his ‘Obi Wan’ podcast. “That’s not a leader. If you had a leader, if you had a leader that the players looked up to and respected, they wouldn’t come out and say things like that.”
“You wonder, ‘How is this going to play in the locker room? What are the top players and big players going to think when they see this?'”
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“You were the captain in that game (against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League), so for you to go out and say something like that… how will the senior players think in the locker room?
“I think he looked at it and thought, ‘Who’s going to hold me accountable in the dressing room?'” No one! The leadership is not there. So he thought, “I can come out, I can say whatever I want, and no one will hold me accountable,” and that’s exactly what happened.
Mikel added: “For him to come out and say something like that after we were disgracefully kicked out of the Champions League, and you come out with the captain’s armband on… There’s no greater player than a football club.
“When he’s had enough, he’ll put his hands up, stop the fuck, and we’ll move on. We’ll move on. There’s no bigger player than a football club, especially one as huge as Chelsea.”
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Enzo Fernandes is Chelsea’s vice-captain (Image: Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
“You can’t come out and say things like that. It doesn’t matter what’s going on. It doesn’t matter what’s going on. You’re paid a good salary 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.”
After Fernandes’ initial comments, Chelsea manager Liam Rosenior held talks with the former Benfica star. “I had a long talk with Enzo this morning at the training ground,” he said before his team lost 3-0 away to Everton.
“Not just the comments, but also about the future and how much he wants to win the upcoming games. I can say that he made it very clear to me how happy he is here, how much he wants to win for the team and how passionate he is for this football club. He also said that there was a misunderstanding of translation and emotion. He is completely committed to this football club.”
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