Enzo Fernandez clears Chelsea transfer message given after ‘Lionel Messi moment’ vs Aston Villa

Enzo Fernandez appeared to convey a message regarding his future at Chelsea during his celebration against Aston Villa.

Fernandez hit a free-kick to put the Blues 3-0 up over Villa in the FA Cup fourth-round replay. Conor Gallagher and Nicolas Jackson had scored the opening two goals in the first half to put Chelsea in command of the tie.

Chelsea were granted a free-kick in the early minutes of the second half, right outside the penalty area. Fernandez struck his shot into the top corner, leaving Villa’s goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez no chance of keeping the ball out of the net.

As Fernandez wheeled away to celebrate alongside his teammates, he immediately removed his shirt and hoisted it up towards the visiting Chelsea fans inside Villa Park.

He held the shirt with his name facing towards the Blues supporters in the away end and then appeared to point towards the ground. It was a celebration similar to when Lionel Messi lifted up his shirt after scoring for Barcelona against Real Madrid in 2017.

While not being particularly clear about the motive behind the celebration, it may be in response to the current rumours surrounding Fernandez’s future.

The Argentina World Cup winner has been linked with a transfer away from Stamford Bridge in recent days, barely 12 months after joining the club from Benfica in February 2023.

Reports have emerged in recent days that Fernandez could depart Chelsea at the conclusion of the season. However, such a rumor was refuted by the midfielder’s agent, Uriel Perez, in a recent interview.

“The player has no intention of leaving,” Perez told AS. “The leaders were quite clear with this initiative. It is a plan that was going to be challenging at the beginning because fresh and young players were going to arrive, but when the parts of the team came together effectively, Chelsea was going to move forward.”