{"id":896712,"date":"2026-04-04T09:13:32","date_gmt":"2026-04-04T14:13:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/04\/this-is-chelsea-mikel-explodes-at-fernandez-over-madrid-confession\/"},"modified":"2026-04-04T09:13:32","modified_gmt":"2026-04-04T14:13:32","slug":"this-is-chelsea-mikel-explodes-at-fernandez-over-madrid-confession","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/04\/this-is-chelsea-mikel-explodes-at-fernandez-over-madrid-confession\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018This is Chelsea\u2019 \u2013 Mikel explodes at Fernandez over Madrid confession"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Soccer <\/p>\n<div>\n<div>\n<p><img width=\"750\" height=\"557\" alt=\"Soccer \u2018This is Chelsea\u2019 \u2013 Mikel explodes at Fernandez over Madrid confession\" decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\" src=\"https:\/\/soccernet.ng\/thumbor\/_fUS5yTxfAPeJTmk4FVXqYKdmvE=\/750x557\/smart\/https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.soccernet.ng%2Fmain%2F2026%2F04%2Fimago22891691.jpg\" srcset data-sizes=\"auto\" data-expand=\"700\"><\/p>\n<p>Mikel Obi. Copyright: Imago<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><strong>Former Chelsea FC player John Obi Mikel has slammed Enzo Fern\u00e1ndez after the midfielder\u2019s recent remarks about living in Spain sparked controversy around his future at Stamford Bridge, <a href=\"https:\/\/soccernet.ng\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/soccernet.ng\/\">Soccernet.ng <\/a>reports. <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The Argentina international stirred debate during the international break when he admitted his admiration for Madrid, saying he would prefer to live in the Spanish capital, which was widely interpreted as a hint toward Real Madrid.<\/p>\n<h2>Soccer Mikel questions Enzo\u2019s commitment<\/h2>\n<p>Speaking on his <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/Gr5HYfp0vnA?si=Phzskk8DZA5zgdPE\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/Gr5HYfp0vnA?si=Phzskk8DZA5zgdPE\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Obi One Podcast<\/a>, Mikel delivered a blunt response, questioning Fern\u00e1ndez\u2019s loyalty to Chelsea.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201cThis is Chelsea Football Club, not a stepping stone to another team,\u201d Mikel said. \u201cIf your heart is already in Madrid, you shouldn\u2019t be wearing the blue jersey.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"765\" src=\"https:\/\/soccernet.ng\/thumbor\/t3hBGgxgYUlicD9Mvkr9J4SnB9k=\/1024x765\/smart\/https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.soccernet.ng%2Fmain%2F2025%2F02%2Fimago1034267181.jpg\" alt=\"Soccer John Mikel Obi\"  ><figcaption>John Mikel Obi of Chelsea Legends. \u2013 Chelsea Legends v Bayern Munich Legends, Legends Of Europe [Photo credit\/Imago]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The former Super Eagles captain, who enjoyed a trophy-laden spell at Stamford Bridge, insisted that commitment to the badge must come first.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201cAt Chelsea, we played for the badge, not for a future transfer,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Mikel went even further, criticising the leadership within the current squad.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s not a leader. If you have leaders that players respect and look up to, you wouldn\u2019t come out and make those statements\u2026 There are no leaders in that dressing room.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/soccernet.ng\/thumbor\/OLR6kCDwGUzG5gqKzsFUUQM2kBA=\/1024x683\/smart\/https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.soccernet.ng%2Fmain%2F2025%2F07%2Fimago1064146590.jpg\" alt=\"Soccer Enzo Fernandez\"  ><figcaption>Enzo Fernandez. Copyright: JoaoxBravo\/Imago<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3>Watch Mikel Obi&#8217;s comment on Enzo Fernandez here:<\/h3>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Gr5HYfp0vnA?si=Phzskk8DZA5zgdPE\" title=\"YouTube video player\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2>Soccer Fern\u00e1ndez\u2019s comments spark backlash<\/h2>\n<p>Fern\u00e1ndez had earlier revealed his preference for Spain, admitting:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019d like to live in Spain. I really like Madrid; it reminds me of Buenos Aires\u2026 I\u2019d be more comfortable in Spanish.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>While he attempted to steady the situation by adding:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201cRight now I\u2019m focused on Chelsea, we\u2019ll see after the World Cup,\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>The remarks triggered backlash from supporters, especially given Chelsea\u2019s inconsistent season.<\/p>\n<p>The 25-year-old, who joined the Blues for a British-record fee in 2023, has since been linked with a potential move to Real Madrid, further fuel speculation about his long-term future.<\/p>\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"737\" src=\"https:\/\/soccernet.ng\/thumbor\/rsSBFYwcG_7dBe2k648oYvsnkUo=\/1024x737\/smart\/https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.soccernet.ng%2Fmain%2F2025%2F07%2Fimago1064142281.jpg\" alt=\"Soccer Moises Caicedo  drops to his knees to celebrate the win with Enzo Fernandez\"  ><figcaption>Moises Caicedo  drops to his knees to celebrate the win with Enzo Fernandez. [Photo Credit\/ Imago].<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2>Soccer Chelsea respond as tensions rise<\/h2>\n<p>Reports indicate that Chelsea has taken internal action, with manager Liam Rosenior reportedly leaving Fern\u00e1ndez out of the upcoming fixtures as a disciplinary measure.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201cI spoke with Enzo \u200ban hour ago. As a football club, with me as part of that process, we&#8217;ve \u200bmade a decision he won&#8217;t be available for tomorrow&#8217;s game (against Port Vale) and he won&#8217;t be available for Manchester City next Sunday,\u201d Rosenior told reporters.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Fern\u00e1ndez is yet to publicly respond to the criticism, but with tensions rising, his return to club duty after the international break will be closely watched.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p><img alt=\"<!-- Author Start -->Ayomide Oguntimehin<!-- Author End -->&#8221; src=&#8221;https:\/\/soccernet.ng\/thumbor\/ycGEJDr9VZlpO_5zujn3ZdvICxA=\/150&#215;150\/smart\/https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.soccernet.ng%2Fmain%2F2024%2F12%2FAyomide-Oguntimehin-pics.jpg&#8221;  height=&#8221;80&#8243; width=&#8221;80&#8243;>\t\t<\/p>\n<div>\n<h3>\n\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/soccernet.ng\/author\/ayomide-oguntimehin\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\tAyomide Oguntimehin\t\t\t\t<\/a><br \/>\n\t\t\t<\/h3>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\tAyomide Oguntimehin is a CAF-accredited sports journalist and Chief Editor at Soccernet.ng. He has interviewed Super Eagles stars like William Troost-Ekong, Taiwo Awoniyi, Bright Osayi-Samuel, and Ademola Lookman, and is known for breaking major transfer stories.<\/p>\n<p>Ayomide has worked with Sports Brief, Naija News and served as Social Lead Editor at Legit.ng. He has also featured on Goal, TVC News, Sports Mole, and Milan News24. He holds a Master\u2019s degree and is currently pursuing a PhD. Follow Ayomide on X (formerly Twitter): @ayo_oguntimehin\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/soccernet.ng\/2026\/04\/chelsea-mikel-fernandez-madrid.html\" class=\"button purchase\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Read More<\/a>Ayomide Oguntimehin<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Soccer Mikel Obi. Copyright: Imago Former Chelsea FC player John Obi Mikel has slammed Enzo Fern\u00e1ndez after the midfielder\u2019s recent remarks about living in Spain sparked controversy around his future at Stamford Bridge, Soccernet.ng reports. The Argentina international stirred debate during the international break when he admitted his admiration for Madrid, saying he would prefer [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":896713,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2079,2012,2005],"tags":[15041,5146],"class_list":{"0":"post-896712","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-this","8":"category-chelsea","9":"category-soccer","10":"tag-chelsea","11":"tag-this"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/896712","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=896712"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/896712\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/896713"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=896712"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=896712"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=896712"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}