By Kehinde-Hassan Afolabi
Enzo Fernandez’s move to Manchester City exposes the hypocrisy of demanding loyalty from departing players while celebrating his hostility towards former Chelsea teammates, a reminder that loyalty in football is rarely permanent and should never justify bullying.
In matter of weeks, Enzo Fernandez went from ‘Proper Chelsea’ to ‘Proper City’. It is all allowed in the rule of the game.
Football has never really been about loyalty, no matter how much fans like to believe otherwise.
Players leave when better opportunities come along, while clubs have no problem moving on when they feel someone no longer fits their plans. That is simply how football works.
However, fans often expect players to show a level of loyalty that clubs themselves rarely offer. In this case, Chelsea are no different.
The club was prepared to move on from players they felt had reached the end of their usefulness, including Robert Sánchez. Few supporters would have a problem with that if they believe it is right for the team. In fact, they even celebrated it.
But when Mason Mount left Chelsea for Manchester United, the reaction from some fans was very different. That contradiction brings us to Enzo Fernandez.
The Argentine often looked like one of Chelsea’s most passionate players, particularly when dealing with former teammates who had left Stamford Bridge for rivals.
His confrontation with Mason Mount during Manchester United’s visit to Stamford Bridge was heated, while his clash with Noni Madueke after the winger’s move to Arsenal was another moment that attracted attention.
Rather than questioning such behaviour, some Chelsea fans embraced it. Praised Fernandez for showing that he was a “proper Chelsea player” who supposedly understood what it meant to represent the club.
But now, Enzo Fernandez has done something that makes those previous moments look rather different.
He left Chelsea for Manchester City.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with a player choosing the move he believes is best for his career. Fernandez has every right to make that decision, just as Mount and Madueke had the right to make theirs.
The problem is the hypocrisy of acting as though other players deserve hostility for doing exactly what he has now done himself.
If Fernandez can leave Chelsea for another Premier League giant, why should Mount or Madueke have been treated as though they had committed some great betrayal?
This is where fans also need to take responsibility.
Supporting a club passionately is one thing. Turning that passion into an excuse for bullying another player is something else entirely.
A player does not become a bad person simply because he decides to leave your club, and celebrating aggressive behaviour towards him does not make anyone more loyal.
Football friendships, rivalries and loyalties change quickly. Today’s teammate can be tomorrow’s opponent. A player who is adored on Saturday can be booed a few months later.
Fernandez’s transfer is simply another reminder that loyalty in football is rarely permanent. It exists when circumstances allow it, but careers are ultimately built around ambition, opportunity and self-interest.
In the end, his departure provide an opportunity for both the fans and himself to reflect on the way his previous behaviour towards departing teammates was celebrated.
Fernandez was entitled to love Chelsea. He was entitled to defend the badge. But that never made bullying acceptable.
And now that the Argentine has chosen his own path, perhaps the fairest lesson is that players are allowed to choose themselves, and fans should allow them the same freedom — without turning loyalty into an excuse for hostility.
