Enzo Fernandez got his dream transfer to Chelsea only after spending 5 months at Benfica. Enzo was brought in from River Plate in the summer, and Benfica have already cashed in on the youngster. President Rui Costa was furious with his player’s behaviour amid the transfer negotiations.
Rui Costa on Enzo:
Rui Costa wanted to keep Enzo till the end of this season and sell him to Chelsea in the summer. He was even open to accepting a lower fee if it meant the player stayed till the summer. However, Enzo refused to continue at Benfica and wanted the change instantly.
“Enzo Fernandez did not want to stay at Benfica. He didn’t give us any chance. I did my best, I’m sad, but I’m not going to cry for a player who didn’t want to stay,” he told reporters. “When Chelsea arrived, it was really impossible to change his mind. During deadline day we found an agreement to sell Enzo to Chelsea in the summer but he didn’t want to stay.”
“From the moment Enzo realised [Chelsea would pay] the value of the clause it was unrelenting. We tried to insist, but the player did not show any openness to continuing at Benfica. I proposed to Chelsea that he stay until the summer for a lower value, but the player did not want to continue at Benfica – and this is when everything changed. At that point I said, ‘He can’t play for Benfica anymore, no way!’ I don’t cry for players who don’t want to wear our shirt,” he added.
The midfielder made it clear that he wanted to leave which forced the official to sell the player. “I had the hope that Enzo would want to fight for the championship title with us,” he continued. “When I realised that he didn’t want to, I also didn’t want him to wear the Benfica shirt again. A player who even with the possibility of not losing a Euro and with a secure Chelsea contract, does not want to continue, could never stay at Benfica. This player could no longer enter the locker room.”
Enzo Fernandez burnt his bridges back in Portugal but has made new ones in London as he hopes to lead this unstable Chelsea team.
