He’s more than just the most hated footballer in England.
As City appear to be on the verge of signing Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez, supporters of all stripes are still livid. His shenanigans in Argentina’s World Cup semifinal victory over England – when Fernandez scored the equaliser in the 85th minute – will live in infamy forever.
But, of course, Fernandez’s story encompasses more than just hyperbolic vitriol over one match. As he’s likely to be driving up the M40 toward Manchester any moment now, let’s take a look back at his origin story.
Roots in el barrio
On the calles of Villa Bonich, an unassuming barrio on Buenos Aires’ northern border, no one needed convincing that the neighbourhood’s best footballer was unique. He had told them himself.
Enzo Jeremias Fernández was eight years old when he sat at the family’s table and informed his father, Raúl, that he was going to make it to Argentina’s top flight. As Raul explained to Contexto Tucuman: “We were sitting right here when Enzo came and told me he was going to reach the Primera.”
Enzo Fernandez was born on January 17, 2001, in a tightly packed area of modest single-family homes and small businesses. His parents, Raul and Marta, raised five sons, and Enzo was the youngest.
His father, a River Plate fan, named him for Uruguayan playmaker Enzo Francescoli, just as another River-loving father in Mendoza had done years earlier with a boy called Enzo Perez. He went on to play for his country and become a River legend.
The kid who played up
Fernandez’s first steps in organised football came at La Recova, an unexceptional club in Villa Lynch just a few kilometres from his home, where he played alongside his older brothers.
Coaches there remember a three-year-old already insisting on playing with boys a year or two older than him: “He was three years and was already playing with kids of 4 or 5,” one recalled to Infobae in 2023. He had a reputation for mischief, too, ducking out of training to play foosball in the clubhouse bar.
He also showed a fiery competitive streak. Whenever La Recova played their local rivals from Villa Bonich, and Enzo scored, he would run over and celebrate in front of one of their club officials. Sound familiar, England supporters?
It was at La Recova, around age five, that he caught the eye of a River Plate scout. Pablo Esquivel happened to be coaching a rival team the day he first saw Fernandez play. “He was destroying us. I saw he was very intelligent, even that small,” Esquivel told Clarin, in an account republished by the AFA’s official site.
The next day, Esquivel told River’s youth coordinators about a boy who “played beautifully.” Following some work to convince his parents, they brought in Enzo at age six.
Moving up through River’s ranks
Money was tight enough in those early River years that getting Enzo to training required creativity. According to El Universal, Fernandez would travel the roughly 40 kilometres to training by public bus wearing his school uniform because it qualified him for a discounted fare. His daily routine by his early teens was relentless: Out the door by 7:30 a.m. for school two blocks from home, back at midday and off to train at River by 2 p.m.
His path in River’s famous academy wasn’t a straight line to success. Fernandez spent years toiling through the club’s lower divisions. At one point, he seriously considered whether he needed to leave River altogether to earn regular playing time. He persisted, however, and the breakthrough came in the age 15/16 Septima Division, where he became a standout. He earned a jump to the reserve squad under coach Luigi Villalba, just one step below the first team. Teammates in those years nicknamed him El Gordo out of affection, not for any lack of fitness.
The moment that changed things came in January 2019. Fernandez played 45 minutes in a practice match against the first team that caught the attention of manager Marcelo Gallardo. Within 48 hours, he’d gone from a reserve-team session to training with the first team to a place on the bench for a match against Patronato at the Monumental on January 27, 2019.
His first-team debut took more than a year longer to arrive: March 4, 2020, away against Liga de Quito in the opening match of that year’s Copa Libertadores group stage. River, prioritising the run-in for the domestic Superliga title, fielded a heavily rotated side that day and lost 3–0 at altitude in Quito.
Fernandez came on as a second-half substitute for Santiago Sosa. He shared the pitch that afternoon with another academy product just beginning to break through: Julian Alvarez, who started the match and hit the post in the first half. Supporters in attendance were watching two future World Cup winners play together in a River side largely made up of reserves.
With the squad still crowded with established midfielders, Gallardo recommended a loan to get Fernandez regular senior minutes. He moved to Defensa y Justicia, a modest club from Florencio Varela.
Making his name away from home
The loan to Defensa y Justicia turned out to be the making of Enzo. Playing under Hernan Crespo (the former Chelsea striker then in his first major coaching job), Fernandez became the axis of the team. With Fernandez, Defensa beat fellow Argentine side Lanus 3–0 in the 2020 Copa Sudamericana final for the first international title in the club’s history. Three months later, Defensa beat Brazilian giants Palmeiras on penalties in the Recopa Sudamericana, coming back from a first-leg defeat to win in Brasília.
When Fernández’s contract with Defensa expired in June 2021, he returned to River to help them win the Primera División championship and the league’s Trofeo de Campeones.
In June 2022, with River still competing in that year’s Copa Libertadores, the club agreed to sell Fernandez to Portuguese giants Benfica for an initial €10 million for 75% of his rights, plus up to €8 million in add-ons. He officially joined Benfica in July 2022, taking the number 13 shirt previously worn by club legend Eusebio. He made his competitive debut for the club on September 23, 2022.
That winter, he played a superlative World Cup that made him one of the most coveted midfielders in Europe. He started Argentina’s final five games of the tournament and earned the Best Young Player award as his country lifted the trophy.
A few weeks later, Chelsea activated his €121 million release clause with Benfica on transfer deadline day, January 31, 2023. It was a British transfer record at the time. River Plate received 25% of the fee, a payday of roughly €30 million. This made his sell-on fee the most money River had ever received for a player transfer, a record that still stands today.
Individual fame but club stumbles
His arrival at Stamford Bridge did little to help Chelsea’s immediate fortunes. They finished 12th in the 2023 Premier League’s final table, their worst result in decades.
In 2024, he added a Copa America title with Argentina to his list of achievements.
In 2025, he helped Chelsea win the Conference League, scoring a goal in the final, a 4-1 victory over Real Betis. Two months later, Chelsea captured the newly expanded Club World Cup, defeating PSG 3–0 in the final.
But, overall, his tenure at Chelsea has been marked by underachievement for his club. After placing 12th in the league in 2023, the Blues finished 6th, 4th and 10th in successive seasons. For a club that has spent money like a drunken sailor on shore leave, their record in the Premiership and Europe is lamentable. Chelsea’s mark in the Champions League since signing Fernandez is 6-1-7. Last season, they were embarrassed by PSG in the round of 16, losing 8-2 on aggregate.
Individually, he’s maintained a consistently high level of performance. Over the past four seasons, he’s earned an average SofaScore rating of 7.22.
Back in February, Jamie Carragher called him one of the best players in the Premier League. Last season, his 54 appearances and 22 goal involvements were both career bests. What he lacked in defensive prowess and dribbling skill he more than made up for in attacking. He ranked in the 85th percentile or better among his peers in expected goals, expected assists, goals scored, goal involvements, shots on target, successful passes and key passes.
If and when he does arrive at the Etihad, he’s certain to become the talk of Manchester. A boy from humble beginnings who, at just 25 years old, has already achieved so much glory. But what’s pointedly missing from his CV is true greatness with his club team. Can he attain that wearing sky blue?
