Caicedo becomes latest Blues player to refuse to rule out leaving Chelsea

Moises Caicedo has worsened Liam Rosenior's headache after becoming the second Chelsea star to leave the door open to a move to Real Madrid.

The £115million midfielder, 24, insisted he is not thinking about leaving London yet but refused to close off a future switch to the Spanish giants.

Given that Rosenior has just banned Enzo Fernandez for two games for saying he would like to live in Madrid 'very much', Caicedo is arguably playing with fire.

When asked about playing for Los Blancos, Caicedo smiled and told Madrid-leaning newspaper AS: 'You never know in football, don't you think?

'I have a contract with Chelsea now. The truth is, I haven't honestly thought about another club, about leaving London, but well, in the end, you never know in football.

'All I want is to enjoy myself. I have a contract and I want to keep playing as long as God allows.

'After that, we'll see what happens. I have a contract, but we'll see what the future holds. Let's see what surprises await us.'

While hardly a clear come-and-get-me-plea, Caicedo's interview is timed awkwardly for Chelsea after Fernandez's comments.

It also comes after Marc Cucurella felt emboldened to publicly criticise the club's transfer policy in the wake of their Champions League last 16 exit to Paris Saint-Germain. Rosenior has since held a meeting with Cucurella.

Caicedo joined Chelsea from Brighton for £115m in 2023 and is contracted until 2033.

The manager has taken a compassionate but firm stance towards his players' comments. He confirmed on Friday that Fernandez had been sanctioned.

'As a football club, with me as part of that process, we've made a decision,' he said.

'He won't be available for tomorrow's game (versus Port Vale) and he won't be available for Manchester City on Sunday. For Enzo, it's disappointing to speak in that way.

'What I will say about Enzo is in terms of him as a character, as a person, I've got no bad words to say about him,' his manager continued. 'But I think a line was crossed in terms of our culture and what we want to build. So we had to make a sanction and that was a decision we've made.

'As a character, as a person, as a player, I have the utmost respect for Enzo Fernandez. What he's achieved in his career, the player that he is, he's frustrated because he wanted Chelsea Football Club to be successful this year.

'He still wants that and we still count him. In terms of the decision, I've said this from day one, it's not all about just me. It's not all about the sporting directors or the ownership or the players. We are aligned in every decision that we make. So it was a joint decision. I'm saying that the door is not closed on Enzo. That's very important. It's a sanction.

'You have to protect, especially this football club, it's a winning football club with traditions of success. You have to protect that culture. I think in terms of that, the line was crossed in the international break.'

The midfielder will now be omitted from Chelsea's next two matchday squads: against Port Vale in their FA Cup clash on Saturday, and to face Manchester City in Premier League action next week.

The manager also held a meeting with Cucurella on Thursday, after the Spain international seemingly criticised Chelsea's transfer strategy, and the sacking of former manager Enzo Maresca, in a wide-ranging interview during the break.

'I had fantastic conversation with Marc yesterday,' Rosenior explained. 'Half an hour in my office.

'I want players, I've said to them from day one, if they've got any issue with how we do things, to come and speak to me and speak to sporting directors.

'My disappointment in Marc's interview is where it went to. I think he should have spoken to us first about the things that he's feeling. I want players to feel like they can speak openly and honestly for the benefit of the football club. Those conversations we've had with Reece James, that's why Reece has signed a new contract, because he believes in where we're going.

'As a football club, we know we need to improve, myself included. We actually know what we're going to do in the summer to achieve those objectives.

'Everybody knows Marc Cucurella, knows his character. He's a great character, he's passionate, he wants to do well. He did a long interview where he spoke with passion, he spoke his mind.

'Yesterday, when I was in the office with him for half an hour, I wanted to remind him "you can come and speak to me, you can be honest with me and you can be honest with the club about what you want." That takes time.

'I've been here for two-and-a-half months. We've played 20 games. So to build those relationships and those connections takes time. But Marc is fully committed, he wants to be here. He's made that very, very clear to me. And he actually believes in where we're moving forward.'

After defeat to Paris Saint-Germain, Fernandez publicly questioned his future at Stamford Bridge, before days later, in a livestream with Argentine channel SpiderCARP, he appeared to issue a come-and-get-me plea to sometime suitors Real Madrid.

Asked which other city he would like to live in, Fernandez replied: 'Madrid... I like Madrid very much... it's similar to Buenos Aires.'

Cucurella griped that Chelsea's two-legged defeat to Paris Saint-Germain suggested that 'we are still a bit away from the top level'.

'I understand this is part of the club's policy, and that they want to take this direction - signing young players and looking to the future,' he said. 'But, for all of us who are still here and want to win big things, moments like this make you feel discouraged.

'We have a good core of players. The foundations are there. But to fight for major trophies, you need more. Signing young players only might complicate achieving those goals. Against PSG, we lacked players that had gone through situations like that.'