How determined was Enzo Fernandez to leave Chelsea?

According to British newspaper Telegraph, Enzo Fernandez sent two transfer requests to the board of directors and alienated his Chelsea teammates, before completing the contract to Man City on the last day of the summer transfer in 2026.

Enzo is one of the vice captains and belongs to the group of most experienced leaders in Chelsea. But during the countdown before the 2026 summer market closed, the club's board of directors received two written transfer requests from Enzo. They were also informed by the midfielder that he felt he no longer had any connection with his teammates at Stamford Bridge.

Enzo then transferred to Man City for 125 million pounds (about 169 million USD) on the last day of the transfer market, becoming the most expensive player in English football history. Right before Enzo's first Manchester derby in his new shirt on September 13, new details surrounding the 25-year-old player's farewell to Chelsea were revealed by the Telegraph newspaper.

Accordingly, Chelsea was determined not to fall into a price-pressured position and maintained its stance on demanding an English record fee until the last day, regardless of how much Enzo wanted to move to Man City. "The Blues" confirmed that the 2001 midfielder will not be allowed to leave if their valuation is not met.

Determined not to be pressured, Chelsea initially offered 120 million pounds (about 162 million USD) for the 25-year-old player, then continued to increase the demand when Man City did not make an offer on time.

Chelsea had the opportunity to cancel the deal when the deal to recruit Lamine Camara from AS Monaco collapsed in the final hours of the transfer market closing day. But they still decided to honor their commitment to Man City. Telegraph also revealed that Chelsea had to sell Enzo because they were worried that if he stayed, the dressing room would fall into a negative state.

Before moving to Man City, a photo on the training ground posted on social networking platforms last month showed Enzo standing with a cold expression, completely separate from the rest of the smiling Chelsea players. After the deal was completed, not a single Chelsea player sent public good luck wishes to Enzo under his farewell post on Instagram.

Chelsea once stood up to defend Enzo after he was recorded singing allegedly racist and homophobic lyrics aimed at members of the French team, when joining forces with Argentina in 2024. This player later apologized and voluntarily donated to an anti-discrimination charity.

He once proudly pointed to the FIFA Club World Cup championship badge on the chest of Chelsea's shirt when he scored against PSG in the Champions League in France last March. Chelsea lost that match 2-5, and it was after the 0-3 defeat in the second leg that Enzo first publicly left his future open.

After that, he was suspended internally by Chelsea for two matches because he answered an interview stating that he really wanted to live in Madrid (Spain), amid rumors that he wanted to join Real Madrid. This penalty caused him to be absent from his team's 0-3 defeat to Man City at Stamford Bridge.

When Maresca left the Chelsea coach position in early 2026, the Argentine midfielder and the Italian coach still kept in regular contact. When Maresca was appointed to lead Man City, he immediately identified his former student as his top transfer target in the summer. This star himself also harbors the intention of reuniting.

Enzo's farewell to Stamford Bridge bore many similarities to the way he left Benfica to join Chelsea in 2023. The Portuguese team was very angry at his attitude towards leaving, although the big difference was that the midfielder had a contract release clause at that time and did not yet hold a leadership role in the team when he was only 22 years old.

During the summer transfer window of 2026, Pedro Neto - who just signed a contract extension with Chelsea until 2032 - also received interest from Man City and Saudi Arabian clubs. But the Portuguese player's move is in complete contrast to Enzo's. Neto did not put pressure on him to leave, instead, he decided to stay to compete for a starting position in coach Xabi Alonso's squad.

This winger is considered to have shown leadership qualities in recent months and has had an impressive start to the new season with goals against Leeds Utd and Brighton. Even though the contract is valid until 2031, Chelsea still gave Neto a new contract until 2032, as a reward for his performance, professional attitude and loyalty.