- Enzo Fernandez and his influencer wife have gone their separate ways
- Valentina Cervantes followed Fernandez to London when he joined Chelsea
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Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez has split from his childhood sweetheart to live on his own.
Fernandez and his influencer wife Valentina Cervantes met in their home country Argentina and have two children together: a daughter born in March 2020 and a son born in October 2023.
Cervantes followed Fernandez to Benfica when he joined the Portuguese club in 2022, then moved to London to join her partner when he signed for Chelsea last January in a deal worth £107 million. But just over 18 months later, the couple have decided to go their separate ways.
Cervantes announced the end of their relationship on Thursday, writing on Instagram: ‘With Enzo we distance ourselves from each other today. But we will always be family and support each other through everything. Because there are two children in the middle who need a lot of our love for them.
‘I know the person and the excellent father Enzo, and the heart he has. And that’s enough for me. They don’t want to create wars that don’t exist.’
Enzo Fernandez has divorced his childhood sweetheart and mother of his children Valentina Cervantes
Cervantes (left) followed Fernandez (right) to London when he joined Chelsea last year
The couple had been together for several years after meeting in their home country Argentina, but have now gone their separate ways
Cervantes’ statement indicates an amicable split, while an Argentinian journalist has provided more details about the split on X.
Julieta Argenta wrote: ‘He told her he wanted to live on his own. They are still family, but he feels the need to experience the phase he skipped by choosing family early on.’
Fernandez’s big decision about his personal life comes amid a difficult period in his Chelsea career, which has seen him dropped to Enzo Maresca’s bench in recent weeks.
The 23-year-old, who captained the Blues in the opening weeks of the season, has not started either of Chelsea’s last two league games, with Maresca favoring a midfield combination of Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia.
Fernandez was brought back into the starting lineup for Chelsea’s trip to Newcastle on Wednesday, but his side were beaten 2-0 as they exited the Carabao Cup.
He now faces a battle to return to Chelsea’s strongest XI after failing to live up to expectations since arriving in England. He currently has a modest return of just seven goals and six assists in 74 Chelsea appearances.
Fernandez is going through a difficult time at Chelsea after being dropped from Enzo Maresca’s starting XI
Fernandez and Chelsea were eliminated from the Carabao Cup by Newcastle on Wednesday
It was not all doom and gloom for Fernandez, as he won the Copa America with Argentina in July.
However, he found himself at the center of a racism storm after filming several members of the Argentina squad singing a controversial song about France’s black players in the aftermath of the Copa America victory.
His Chelsea teammate Wesley Fofana branded the song ‘uninhibited racism’ and unfollowed Fernandez on Instagram. His clubmates Axel Disasi and Malo Gusto followed his example.
Fernandez then posted an apology in response to the comment: “I would like to apologize for a video posted on my Instagram channel during the national team celebration.
In July, Enzo Fernandez filmed the Argentinian players singing a controversial song about France’s black players
His Chelsea teammate Wesley Fofana branded the song “uninhibited racism” and Fernandez later apologized for his involvement in the incident.
“The song contains highly offensive language and there is absolutely no excuse for these words. I am against all forms of discrimination and apologize for getting caught up in the euphoria of our Copa America celebrations.
“That video, that moment, those words do not reflect my beliefs or my character. I’m really sorry.’
He also made a personal apology to his Chelsea teammates and was reinstated into the squad before the start of the season in August.