Chelsea told their behaviour almost blew up Enzo Fernandez move to Man City

8 Sept 2026 13:05 BST |
4 min read

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Manchester City threatened to walk away from a deal to sign Enzo Fernandez over perceived “posturing” from Chelsea, according to the Daily Mail.

The saga of the summer was finally resolved when Fernandez joined Man City for a joint-British record fee of €145million (£125m) on transfer deadline day.

Fernandez was strongly linked with a move to City all summer – yet, on more than one occasion, it looked as though a deal would not be agreed with Chelsea.

Such was the exasperation of City that they almost abandoned their attempts to sign the Argentina international, according to The Mail’s Jack Gaughan.

City officials are believed to have grown tired of the “posturing” from Chelsea, though The Mail do not speculate on what that refers to.

Before Fernandez joined City, Chelsea set an unofficial deadline for interested parties to sign the 25-year-old for €145m (£125m) by 5pm on 14 August.

City are not believed to have made an offer within that timeframe, adding to the doubts around whether a deal would be agreed with Chelsea.

It was also widely reported on the eve of transfer deadline day that Chelsea would not sanction the sale of Fernandez unless they sourced a replacement first.

However, the Blues ended up selling Fernandez without bringing in a midfielder, having missed out on acquiring Lamine Camara from Monaco.

Chelsea are also believed to have chased deals for Roma’s Manu Kone and Fulham’s Sander Berge in the final stages of the summer transfer window.

Fernandez aimed dig at Chelsea after City move

Fernandez meanwhile was undergoing a medical with City at almost 10pm – just one hour before the transfer window closed in England on 1 September.

The former Benfica man, widely regarded as one of the best midfielders in the Premier League, then put pen to paper on a five-year contract with City.

He then sent a dig towards Chelsea by saying he had always dreamed of playing for a “big club” like City during his unveiling.

Fernandez made his City debut just four days’ later in the 1-0 win over newly-promoted Coventry City at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Reuniting with his former Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca at City, Fernandez was involved in the build up to Erling Haaland’s winning goal in M11, teeing up assist-maker Antoine Semenyo.

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