Maresca Defends Sterling and Disasi’s Chelsea Exile: “It’s Not Harsh”

Enzo Maresca has defended his handling of Chelsea’s marginalized players, Raheem Sterling and Axel Disasi, stating that training separately “is not harsh”. The Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) has contacted the club regarding the conditions under which the players are working this season, after being considered surplus and isolated from the first team. Neither player was able to secure a transfer away from Stamford Bridge during the transfer window, despite efforts to finalize deals. Maresca has neither seen nor spoken to any of the players this season, and both have been completely separated from the team, training and eating alone and at different times than the rest of the squad. Sterling, who had an unsuccessful loan at Arsenal last season, still has two years remaining on his £325,000-a-week contract, signed in 2022, while Disasi is under contract until 2029. He spent the second half of last season on loan at Aston Villa.

I’ve been in Raheem’s situation and Axel’s as a player. I know it’s not the best feeling, because if you’re a player, it means you want to train and play.

Enzo Maresca

Maresca added: “But for different reasons, the situation is what it is at the moment. I know the club is giving them the opportunity to work the right way, and this is the only thing I can say. “It’s something you like to talk about, but it’s not just Chelsea, it’s any club in the world, I can assure you. Italy, Spain, England, France, United States, Brazil, any country in the world. For whatever reason, the player and the club don’t find a solution, if you’re not involved in the team, you’re not involved in the team.” FIFA has regulations regarding players who are isolated from teams in circumstances that could constitute abusive conduct by a club, which may grant an individual the right to terminate their contract early. It is understood that Chelsea tried to facilitate Sterling’s transfers to Bayern Munich and Napoli during the summer, but the 30-year-old player’s preference was to remain in England for family reasons. Maresca continued talking about the difficulty of the work:

My father is 75 years old, and for 50 years he has been a fisherman, working from two in the morning until ten in the morning. That is a hard life. Not the way a player works.

Enzo Maresca

The new signing, Alejandro Garnacho, is in line to make his full debut against his former team, Manchester United, at Old Trafford on Saturday. Maresca added: “We are happy with the way he is adapting to our style, what we want from our wingers. I think he is ready to start tomorrow. When asked about the possible hostile reception the winger might receive from the home fans, he said: “You have to learn to handle these kinds of things.”