Enzo Fernandez is a Argentine midfielder who currently plays for Chelsea. They are currently struggling in the league. Affter last night's (21 March) defeat against Everton, they are on a four game losing streak in all competitions.
This has led to some disgruntlement among the players. Fernandez is one who has recently spoken out about the situation and has brought up former Chelsea manager, Enzo Maresca.
In recent times, the Chelsea board have faced heavy criticism, both from the supporters and the media. It is not hard to understand why that has been the case. Over the past four seasons under BlueCo, the club have made very little progress despite spending north of a billion pounds on new signings.
While the club’s transfer model has been under the microscope, their handling of managers hasn't been much better either. Thomas Tuchel, Graham Potter, Mauricio Pochettino and Enzo Maresca have already come and gone. Liam Rosenior’s future might be in doubt as well if things don’t improve in the near future.
The decision to replace Maresca with Rosenior has clearly not paid off. The former guided the club to two trophies and Champions League qualification last season. After a short poor run of form this season, he was shown the exit door. Differences with the board behind the scenes might have been the catalyst.
Also Read: A Bridge Too Far
It's not just the media or the supporters that do not agree with the club’s decision to sack Maresca though. It looks like some of the players couldn't make sense of it either. Enzo Fernandez is one of them.
As reported by Metro, Fernandez was asked in an interview with Mexican broadcaster, TUDN, about the club’s decision to approve Maresca’s departure. The Argentine said:
"I don’t understand it either. Sometimes there are things that we as players don’t understand, how and in what way they try to manage things. Obviously, it was a departure that hurt us a lot because we had an identity. He gave us an order, even though, as is the way of football, sometimes it’s good and bad."
"But he always had a very clear identity when it came to training and playing and obviously his departure hurt us a lot, especially in the middle of the season, it cuts everything short."
Maresca played a significant role in changing Fernandez’s role at Chelsea. The Argentine went from struggling to contribute with goals and assists to one of the club’s most consistent contributors; transforming from a midfield orchestrator to a box-crasher. Naturally, the Italian manager’s exit would have come as a blow to him.
The Blues, who crashed out of the Champions League after a humbling 8-2 aggregate defeat against Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in midweek, have struggled under new head coach, Liam Rosenior, of late, slipping to sixth in the Premier League with just one win in their last five matches.
Maresca, just months after winning the inaugural Club World Cup with Chelsea last summer, left Stamford Bridge at the start of 2026 following disagreements with the board, paving the way for the appointment of Rosenior from Strasbourg.
The Italian coach clashed with owners Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital over their failure to recruit a new central defender last summer following Levi Colwill’s long-term ACL injury and the relationship continued to deteriorate as Maresca felt he did not have the board’s full support during the early months of the season.
The managerial instability is not good when it comes to the club’s chances of holding on to their best performers. Players like some continuity as well and won’t be happy to have to constantly prove themselves whenever a new manager is brought in.
Fernandez might turn out to be the prime example of this. Questions surround his future at Chelsea. Reports in Argentina suggested that there are chances of him leaving and the player himself didn't rule out that possibility when asked about it after the second leg defeat to PSG.
Of course, Rosenior has come out and cleared up the situation, suggesting Fernandez is fully committed to Chelsea and his comments were misconstrued. It is hard to not wonder about his future though when speaks like this to the media.
This weekend, Chelsea were handed a golden opportunity to get back in the Champions League qualification mix. Liverpool lost, while Manchester United could only manage a draw. The Blues did come into the Everton game on the back of three-straight defeats. Fans were hoping that this would be the start of a turnaround.
On the contrary, this performance might have underlined why Chelsea won’t be qualifying for the Champions League this season. They put in another toothless display. This was their fourth-straight defeat, as Everton won comfortably by a 3-0 scoreline. It was also the third game on the trot in which Liam Rosenior’s side didn't even score.
Of course, it is very easy to point the finger at Rosenior. It is starting to feel eerily like Graham Potter’s run at the club. Both started well but it has not taken long to figure out that they are not good enough for the job.
Earlier this week, briefings came out suggesting that Rosenior maintained the backing of the Chelsea board. Also, that they might keep him, even if he failed to qualify for the Champions League. Sacking him now or even in the summer, would be an admission that the BlueCo think-tank got it wrong again. For the umpteenth time.
Journalist and well-known Chelsea fan, Simon Phillips wrote on X after the game: "I’ll be honest, I’ve wanted to back Rosenior but the truth is he’s just another Southgate (and I never rated him either). But we need to keep the focus on the actual major problem at this club right now – the owners and SDs."
Another Chelsea fan wrote: "Maybe Rosenior isn’t it, but Chelsea will keep going in circles if the ownership and recruitment structure stay this bad."
The likes of Enzo Maresca and Mauricio Pochettino showed that they were taking the club in the right direction. They were shown the exit door, largely due to differences behind the scenes.
In the case of Maresca, he even won a couple of trophies and secured Champions League football in his first season. But when the summer came, he was not backed. Instead, BlueCo. continued to bring in unproven youngsters and we can all see how well that has worked out for Chelsea this season.
The most frustrating thing about this entire situation might be the fact that BlueCo. don’t seem to recognise the need for change. Most reports regarding them in the media suggest that they are happy with the direction of the club and convinced it will work out.
It is hard to imagine that how they can be happy though. Chelsea have spent north of a billion pounds on this squad and can’t compete with even mediocre Premier League teams a lot of the time.
In situations like these, it doesn't really surprise me that Fernandez is casting doubts about his future at Stamford Bridge. Top players always want to play in strong teams that win every week and that are in the race to win the respective league.
They will most certainly seek a move elsewhere if the team they're in isn't performing at their level. From my vantage point, the only way Fernandez stays is if Chelsea change their fortunes and are fighting for titles.
Clubs will do absolutely anything to keep hold of their star players.