Javier Pastore, former Argentina international and now agent for Enzo Fernandez, has confirmed that he will try to engineer a move for his compatriot if Chelsea do not hand him the deal he wants. His statements follow a sanction from Chelsea for his comments during the week.
Fernandez has on four separate occasions cast doubt on his long-term future at Chelsea in the last three weeks, despite having a contract until 2032. With Real Madrid on the hunt for a midfielder, Fernandez has twice declared he would like to live in the Spanish capital. Pastore seemed not to understand why his comments had made such large waves, telling The Athletic the two-match ban was ‘unfair.’
“Enzo didn’t understand the situation. When the coach told him, he accepted it because he’s a highly professional guy who’s always fully committed wherever he is and respects decisions, but we don’t understand the punishment because he doesn’t mention any club or say he wants to leave Chelsea, far from it; he only mentions Madrid, the city, because he was asked which European city he’d like to live in one day, and he said Madrid because of the language, because it’s similar to Buenos Aires and because it’s logical – it’s only natural for an Argentine to say that – and also because of the culture, the weather… But at no point does he say he wants to leave Chelsea or London.”
“I’ll say it again: he didn’t say he wants to leave or that he’d rather live in Madrid than London. He’s not disrespecting anyone.”
“The punishment is completely unfair – banning the player for two matches, which moreover are also absolutely crucial for Chelsea because qualification for the Champions League is at stake and he is one of the team’s most important players.”
‘We’ll explore other options if there is no agreement’
Pastore then went on to reveal that contract talks between Fernandez and Chelsea had recently broken down.
“There have been talks about renewing his contract, yes. We started discussing it around December or January, but we couldn’t reach an agreement. As Enzo’s contract still has six years to run, we decided not to renew it because the terms weren’t right for us or for the player; given what Enzo is capable of today, he deserves much more than he’s currently earning.
We haven’t reached an agreement and it may be that this annoyed the club, given that he is a hugely important player, but these are things that have to be managed.”
The two sides had supposedly decided to put off fresh talks until after the World Cup, but Pastore did open the door to a move then.
“We don’t want to get into discussions about figures, contracts and negotiations when the timing wasn’t right.”
“Our plan after the World Cup is to meet with Chelsea again and, if there is no agreement, to explore other options.”
‘There are so many things we’re not seeing’
Pastore chose to make the comments to The Athletic’s Real Madrid correspondent, Mario Cortegana, rather than their Chelsea reporter. Asked if Fernandez was happy at Stamford Bridge, Pastore implied that he was not.
“He’s the backbone and leader of the team; it’s only natural that, from a sporting perspective, he’s happy to be at Chelsea. He won major trophies last year and earned the respect of the entire Premier League and all the fans, and when a player is performing like that on the pitch, of course he’s happy where he is.”
“Then there are other factors that influence decisions, whether it’s salary, respect, or the way things are handled… There are so many things that we aren’t seeing at the moment – or at least I, as an agent, am not seeing – that suggest the club is not handling things in the best possible way with him.”
Even if Fernandez has plausible deniability over his comments, Pastore and his client seem to be the only ones that did not raise eyebrows at Fernandez’s repeated praise for Madrid. If there is doubt over whether Fernandez wants to leave Chelsea, Pastore has now confirmed that he will be looking into it.
