Enzo Fernandez will not go to the Olympic Games to play for Argentina, sources in the South American country are reporting today.
There were claims over the weekend that the former Benfica star wanted to play for his nation in Paris this summer, but it seems to have been decided that it’s a bridge too far. He will head off soon to play in the Copa America and that’s the limit of what Chelsea are going to permit.
Reporting from Uriel Iugt says that the news will be made official in the next few hours. Chelsea will not free him for duty, and want him present for the start of preseason. There were meetings behind the scenes, and this is clearly the conclusion the club came to.
🚨🇦🇷 En las próximas horas se confirmaría la baja de Enzo Fernández para los Juegos Olímpicos.
➡️ #Chelsea no lo libera y quiere que esté desde el inicio en la pretemporada. pic.twitter.com/PiYrQgoU1W
— Uriel Iugt (@urieliugt) June 2, 2024
A sensible decision
It would be a sensible decision in most summers – but this one in particular has a lot riding on it.
There’s a new coach, plus an early start to the campaign thanks to the Conference League qualifiers. Not only that, Enzo missed the end of last season because of an injury that effectively came from playing too much, so stuffing his summer full of Argentina games is not going to go down well with anyone at Chelsea.
Let’s hope Enzo sees it that way and that this doesn’t cause any friction behind the scenes. It would be a disaster start for his namesake Enzo Maresca in the job if one of the players he needs to get playing at his best starts the season in a bad mood.
There are set to be similar debates across the world of football – even Kylian Mbappe is pushing to play for France, but his new team Real Madrid are going to prevent him from going. Teams at the Games are made up of under players, with 3 overage additions permitted.
