Enzo Fernandez: Roger Schmidt says he only wants players who are ‘happy to play’ and ‘passionate’
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‘Benfica is so much bigger than a player!’: Roger Schmidt slams Enzo Fernández over his record £107m transfer to Chelsea, insisting he only wants players who are “happy to play” for the club Portuguese
It didn’t take long for Benfica manager Roger Schmidt to make clear how he feels about the British record transfer of Enzo Fernández to Chelsea.
The 22-year-old World Cup winner, who was Chelsea’s No. 1 target in January, has signed for £107m on an eight-and-a-half-year deal until June 2031.
At one point, it looked as though Chelsea would fall short of closing the deal for the 22-year-old World Cup winner, but both sides finally struck a breakthrough minutes before the 11:00pm deadline.
Enzo Fernández signed for Chelsea after a sensational £107m move on an eight-and-a-half-year deal.
Benfica boss Roger Schmidt has criticized Fernández, insisting he only wants players who are “happy to play”.
Benfica left Fernández out of the squad to face Arouca on Tuesday -who won 3-0- and did not train on Monday either.
Speaking after the match, Schmidt was evidently ready to move on without the midfield star.
“It is always difficult to lose a good player in the winter transfer window, but today we showed that we are a good team without him, that we are capable of playing good football without him, that the players are focused on scoring as many points as possible. to be champions’, he said.
Benfica is much bigger than a player. We only need players who are happy to play for Benfica, who are passionate.
“We had a player who wanted to leave and a club willing to pay the clause, we couldn’t do anything. We accept and investigate it.
Earlier in the window, Schmidt had accused Chelsea of being disrespectful in their pursuit of Fernandez, insisting they had no intention of paying his sensational buyout clause.
World Cup winner Fernández was left out of Benfica’s 3-0 win over Arouca before his signing.
It is a bitter blow for Benfica to lose their star midfielder who had the second most assists (five) in the Primeira Liga, while topping the lists for passes completed (1,432) and passes completed third (372).
Benfica confirmed the move in a statement early Wednesday morning after the clubs completed the necessary paperwork before the deadline.
The Portuguese club also removed Fernández from its player list on the club’s website.
Meanwhile, the Blues teased an announcement by changing their Twitter bio to an Argentina flag followed by a trophy emoji.
The signing brings Chelsea’s total spending for January to more than £323m.
On a busy day at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea also saw midfielder Jorginho depart in a £12m move to London rivals Arsenal.