Manchester City head coach Enzo Maresca has rejected an attempt to turn Enzo Fernandez’s comments about Chelsea into a comparison between the two clubs.
Fernandez recently said he had finally joined a big club after moving to Chelsea. The remark prompted a journalist to ask Maresca whether the Argentina international had been suggesting that Chelsea was a smaller club.
Maresca said he did not believe Fernandez had intended to make that point.
“I don’t think Enzo wanted to call Chelsea a small club. He was at a big team, but now he is happy to be with us,” Maresca said.
When asked whether Fernandez might instead have meant that Manchester City was a bigger club than Chelsea, Maresca refused to be drawn into the comparison.
“I think Chelsea are a big club, just like Manchester City,” he said.
The response avoided endorsing any hierarchy between the two clubs and directly challenged the suggestion that Fernandez’s words were intended as a criticism of Chelsea. Maresca instead stressed the status of both teams, while also highlighting the player’s happiness at being with his current side.
Fernandez has yet to make his debut for Manchester City. He could make his first appearance for the club on 5 September, when the Citizens face Coventry.
The match, which is scheduled as a third-round Premier League fixture, is due to begin at 17:00 Moscow time.
Fernandez’s earlier statement was therefore the focus of the exchange, with Maresca asked to clarify whether the player had been comparing the size or importance of Chelsea and Manchester City. Rather than attach that meaning to the comment, the Manchester City head coach interpreted it as an expression of Fernandez’s satisfaction at joining a major club.
Maresca’s answer also left no suggestion that Chelsea should be regarded as inferior. By placing Chelsea and Manchester City on the same level, he kept the discussion centred on the reputation of both clubs rather than allowing the question to become a dispute over which team carries greater weight.
For now, Fernandez remains without an appearance for Manchester City, although the fixture against Coventry on 5 September offers the possibility of his first match for the Citizens.