Benfica president Rui Costa has hit out at Enzo Fernandez for his behaviour before leaving the club to join Chelsea for a British record fee.
Chelsea signed the Argentina international on transfer deadline day from Benfica after meeting the midfielder’s €121 million release clause.
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“We lost a great player but I’m not going to cry for a player who doesn’t want to represent Benfica,” Rui Costa told BTV as reported in Record.
“[I] don’t cry for players who don’t want to be here. I was raised in this club and told to honour the jersey, otherwise where is the phrase ‘we only want players who honour the jersey’?”
A World Cup winner with Argentina, Fernandez, 22, had only joined Benfica from River Plate in July in a €14m transfer.
Rui Costa was reluctant to transfer Fernandez midway through the season and remained hopeful that a deal could be reached for the midfielder to continue at the club until June.
