Enzo Fernandez officially dropped for Man City clash as Liam Rosenior takes ruthless Chelsea action

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Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez will miss his team's next two matches, including the Premier League clash with Manchester City

Liam Rosenior says Enzo Fernandez will not play in Chelsea's next two matches because of comments he made about his future and links with Real Madrid. The midfielder threw his future at Stamford Bridge into question during the international break, hinting at a possible departure in the summer transfer window.

Rosenior's side are in turmoil, having lost their last four matches across all four competitions – crashing out of the Champions League and facing a battle to qualify for next season's competition. While they have a kind FA Cup draw on paper against League One strugglers Port Vale, the west London side then face a daunting league clash at home to Manchester City on Sunday, April 12.

And speaking to journalists at Cobham on Friday morning, the Chelsea manager revealed Fernandez will miss the FA Cup quarter-final tie on Saturday against Vale and next Sunday's Premier League clash against Pep Guardiola's side.

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He said: "Yes, we spoke with Enzo an hour ago. As a football club, with me as part of that process, we've made a decision.

"He won't be available for tomorrow's game and he won't be available for Manchester City on Sunday. I think 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. 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.

Fernandez continues to be linked with a transfer to Real Madrid after admitting he would like to live in the Spanish capital. The Chelsea star has regularly been asked about joining Los Blancos in the future, with his latest admission a telling one.

Speaking on a Kick stream with Marcos Giles, he said: "I'd like to experience, I don’t know, live there. I really like Madrid, it reminds me a lot of Buenos Aires.”

It was then presented to Fernandez that he "could go to Getafe or Rayo Vallecano... there's also Atletico Madrid."

Though Real was not directly mentioned, the point was quite clear to those on the stream, including Fernandez, who smiled after that statement.