It was 3.52am local time in Miami when Real Madrid released their Comunicado Oficial to the world, and Enzo Fernandez's representative, Javier Pastore, is in Florida’s vibrant coastal city ahead of Argentina’s World Cup last-32 clash with Cape Verde.
We can only imagine his surprise upon waking up. The 37-year-old former midfielder for Paris Saint-Germain and Argentina will have had a fair few messages waiting to be opened on his mobile, and they were not to inform him that he had been nominated for Agent of the Year.
Rather, it was that Real had publicly poo-pooed the claims that they are in talks for Fernandez, who is valued at £120million by Chelsea. The La Liga side added they have ‘no intention of pursuing such an operation’, and they ‘categorically deny’ suggestions they are working on a deal.
This followed Pastore speaking on the record with Madrid-based journalists from the Marca and AS websites in which, not for the first time, he bigged up the possibility of a move to the Bernabeu for his man. Sources have suggested Real’s decision to release their statement was in response to those interviews conducted at an Argentine Football Association event in Miami.
It is embarrassing for Pastore, and by association, Fernandez. The 25-year-old Argentinian should have woken up with Cape Verde only on his mind. Instead he found the world’s biggest club had released a statement insisting they will not be recruiting him this summer.
We will revisit whether that is truly the case in a moment, but first, Chelsea’s take on this latest development.
The Premier League club are not commenting publicly, but privately, sources say they do not mind the response from Real. It did not come as a complete surprise. This is not the first time in this transfer window that their La Liga counterparts have released a transfer-related Comunicado Oficial. There was also one when they were being linked with Bayern Munich’s Michael Olise, and when they had a £128.6m offer for Julian Alvarez turned down by Atletico Madrid.
As reported by Daily Mail Sport, Real have never initiated club-to-club talks centred on doing a deal for Fernandez, despite some claims to the contrary with social media awash with ITKs – ‘In The Knows’ – desperately trying to be the first to break the news.
Real’s manager, Jose Mourinho, is an admirer of the 2022 World Cup winner and would like a new midfielder. However, Fernandez is not their only candidate, and he represents an expensive option at £120m.
Chelsea have stood firm on that valuation ever since the noise started. Their position today is that Fernandez is their player, contracted to 2032, and expected to report for pre-season once he has had sufficient rest after the conclusion of this World Cup. It is added they have not been actively searching for buyers to sell their vice-captain to in the summer of Xabi Alonso’s arrival.
Should Fernandez stay at Chelsea, there is a way back for him. It is considered a natural consequence of football today that players and their representatives occasionally indulge in a little flirting, either in private or in public. Yet if no move materialises, it is presumed they will show their professionalism and concentrate on the club with whom they are contracted.
It is another case for head coaches. Enzo Maresca, for example, was in charge of multiple big calls at Chelsea. Once he had lost his club’s trust amid his own ambitions to succeed Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, the relationship was broken. Chelsea could not have his ‘head and heart’ – as they worded it in their statement when Maresca was announced as City’s new manager last week – with another club. There was no way forward together; no chance of continuing as if nothing had happened. Maresca resigned on New Year’s Day after a tense December.
But players? That is seen as a different situation, per sources. Chelsea believe Fernandez can be reintegrated into their squad if that comes to pass in this pre-season, and insiders insist it will if nobody comes close to their £120m asking price.
He would not be the first to stay after a noisy summer, nor would he be the last. If that happens, Chelsea may even consider reopening talks around an improved contract, though that is a discussion for another day. For now, his club wish him well at the World Cup from afar.
Could Real return for Fernandez this summer? It is a possibility, of course it is. It would not be the first time they have disregarded their own denial. In the summer of 2002, they spent a month denying they had interest in Inter Milan’s Ronaldo, then they signed the Brazilian. In 2003, they insisted Manchester United’s David Beckham was not a target, then they signed the Englishman.
The statement for the Beckham saga was scarily similar to the Fernandez one, insisting there had been no contact ‘directly or indirectly’ and adding they have ‘no intention’ of negotiating a transfer. Florentino Perez was Real’s president back then and still is now, and he added ‘never, never, never’ when asked about Beckham at the time. Perez posed alongside Beckham at both his signing and unveiling.
Could another club come in for Fernandez? Sure, though Chelsea’s valuation shrinks the pool of potential suitors. Manchester City have already signed Elliot Anderson from Nottingham Forest for £116m. Paris-Saint Germain have been linked, but only loosely, and their midfield is already formidable. Atletico are based in Madrid, the city admired by both Fernandez, but again, Chelsea want £120m to sell.
The only upside for Fernandez and Pastore is that there are worse places to have an iffy morning than in the picturesque paradise of Miami.