Rosenior says Fernandez ‘obstacles’ remain as Chelsea boss ‘doesn’t have big enough ego’ | OneFootball

Liam Rosenior has revealed Enzo Fernandez “obstacles” remain after the Chelsea star “crossed a line” and will be dealt with in “a serious meeting about something serious”.

Rosenior confirmed that Fernandez will not be part of the Chelsea squad to take on Manchester City on Sunday after already missing the 7-0 win over Port Vale as punishment for breaking ranks during the international break.

The Argentinian was sanctioned by Rosenior after claiming he would “like to live in Madrid” having questioned the club’s decision to sack Enzo Maresca.

Fernandez has apologised for his comments and Rosenior confirmed ahead of the Port Vale came that his relationship with the Chelsea vice-captain is “in a very good place”.

A source close to a senior player told The Athletic that the situation has indeed ‘calmed down significantly’ and that ‘Fernandez is not causing a problem behind the scenes’.

But when asked for an update on the situation, Rosenior revealed that “obstacles” remain to solve things and that a “serious meeting” is still required.

Rosenior said: “Had a really good chat with Enzo, three or four with him, he’s apologised to me and the club. We’ll deal with that after a massive game on Sunday.

“It’s a serious meeting about something serious. I’m not questioning his character or who he is as a person but I believe people make mistakes and you can’t overstep the punishment for the mistake.

“I made a decision. What I want for Enzo is for him to go on and have an amazing career. He won’t play on Sunday.

“There are certain values and cultures that I believe in that make the club stronger if you get them right.

“There’s a few obstacles we still need to get through but I won’t go into that.”

Rosenior won his first four Premier League games in charge of the Blues after replacing Maresca but just one of his last six in a spell which also saw them lose the Carabao Cup semi-final to Arsenal and get mercilessly dumped out of the Champions League by Paris Saint-Germain.

The Blues now sit one point behind Liverpool in that now coveted fifth place ahead their crunch clash with Manchester City, whom they drew 1-1 with at the Etihad in January when Calum McFarlane was in interim charge.

Rosenior insists he doesn’t have the “ego” to not respect Guardiola, whatever that means.

He added: “I don’t have a big enough ego not to respect people. Pep has influenced everyone in football. He’s an unbelievable coach with an unbelievable career but I want my team to show what they’re capable of on Sunday.

“He’s won trophies, he’s invigorated the team. He also had time to put a style together.

“We need to not switch off or make mistakes because City will punish you.”