Roger Schmidt, the head coach of Benfica, has reacted angrily to Chelsea's pursuit of star player and World Cup winner Enzo Fernandez.
In a press conference, Schmidt criticized Chelsea, calling their actions disrespectful.
Chelsea and the 21-year-old Fernandez reached a personal agreement earlier this winter. Despite Benfica's steadfast refusal to sell, Chelsea had been pushing for a deal paid in installments rather than activating his €120 million release clause.
In an effort to force a transfer, Fernandez, who won the FIFA 2022 Qatar World Cup award for best young player, even skipped a Benfica training session to fly back to Argentina without permission. However, because the Portuguese team insisted on receiving the full €120 million, negotiations have broken down.
“I want to start by saying that Enzo is a very good boy and a fantastic player. We like him very much and we want him to stay. But his situation is not easy,” Schmidt said.
“He played in a World Cup, was World Champion and there’s a lot of money on the table. A player can get confused when he thinks about it and I think it’s a situation that everyone understands. He wasn’t allowed to go to Argentina, he missed training and that’s not acceptable. There will be consequences.
“We don’t want to sell Enzo, neither I nor the president. We all know that he has a clause in his contract. If he wants to leave and if someone pays this clause, we can do nothing.
