Since the current ownership took over the club back in 2022, Chelsea have gained a reputation for handing out unprecedented contracts in football, with many likening the deals to those signed in American sports.
For example - Cole Palmer, Joao Pedro and Estevao have contracts until 2033, Alejandro Garnacho, Jamie Gittens and Jorrel Hato have contracts until 2032, whilst Liam Delap, Mykhaylo Mudryk, Pedro Neto and Moises Caidedo have contracts until 2031. And so on and so forth.
One other player who has a long contract is Enzo Fernandez, who like Garnacho, Gittens and Hato, is signed until 2032, which is still six and a half years away from now.
However, it appears as if all is not well. According to the Nizaar Kinsella of the BBC, Fernandez is among "a group of players" who feel their recent performance level justifies talk of a new deal.
He reports that the 23-year old has recently changed his agency, and his new camp have been tasked with securing the player an improved contract, and have informed the club of this.
So, despite having such a long time on his current contract, it seems as if Fernandez wants to sign a new deal. The words "improved contract" are interesting. Perhaps this suggests it is not about the length of the contract per se, but rather the player's current wages, and wanting to earn more money.
Particularly as it was reported that he feels his recent performances merit a new contract. Often it is mentioned that players feel their performances justify earning more than they currently do, so that could also imply it is more about salary than contract length.
But we shall see. No doubt we will hear more over the coming months. It is also worth noting how Kinsella suggested that there were other players who feel they deserve new contracts. You wonder who they could be.
Hopefully it will be reported who those players are at some point. Some you could argue do deserve new and improved contracts, whilst others most certainly do not deserve that.
Back in January of 2023, when he signed for the club, Fernandez had come from Benfica, of whom he had only been at for six months, having signed from River Plate. Given the disparity in finances, he probably did not sign for Chelsea on huge wages compared to other players.
So, given his role in the team since then, you can understand why he may want a pay rise. Perhaps a new contract, with bigger wages, but also until the summer of 2032 could be in the works.
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