Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has dismissed talk of hardship surrounding Raheem Sterling and Axel Disasi’s exclusion from his first-team squad, pointing instead to his father’s decades of gruelling work as a fisherman as an example of what he calls “a hard life.”
Asked if the pair might struggle mentally with their isolation, the Italian offered a pointed comparison. “My father is 75 years old and for 50 years he’s been a fisherman, working from two o’clock in the morning till 10 o’clock in the morning. This is a hard life, not the way a player works,” he said.
The PFA has confirmed it is in touch with Chelsea to ensure both players continue to train properly despite their absence from matchday squads.
FIFA rules prohibit clubs from treating players in a way that could be viewed as abusive, and those found guilty can face sanctions, while affected players could even terminate their contracts on “just cause.”
Maresca, however, remained firm in his stance. “When no solution is found, you give the player all the tools to train and do anything, but if you are not in the squad, you are not in the squad. It’s not about Chelsea, it is about any club in the world,” he added.
Sterling, 30, still has nearly two years left on his £325,000-per-week contract. A host of clubs, including Juventus, Napoli and Bayer Leverkusen, expressed interest in the winger during the summer, but he opted to remain in London to stay close to his family.
Arsenal ruled out a permanent move after his loan spell last season, while Fulham chose to strengthen elsewhere.
Disasi, meanwhile, is tied to Chelsea until 2029. He hoped for a loan return to Monaco but the Ligue 1 side never lodged a formal offer. Interest from Bournemouth, Sunderland and West Ham failed to materialise into concrete moves before the deadline, leaving the Frenchman in limbo.
While Sterling and Disasi’s futures remain uncertain, Chelsea supporters may see new signing Alejandro Garnacho in the starting XI for the first time this weekend. The Argentine forward joined from Manchester United in a £40 million deal and has made two substitute appearances so far.
Before his switch, Garnacho was sidelined by United boss Ruben Amorim, who ordered him to train separately from the rest of the squad. He also voiced frustration at being left out of the starting lineup for the Europa League final defeat to Tottenham.
Asked whether Garnacho could face boos at Old Trafford on Saturday, Maresca replied: “I don’t know. The same happened to Marc Cucurella against Bayern Munich, which is not easy, but as a player you have to learn to endure these kinds of things.”
Cucurella was targeted by Bayern fans earlier this week, with the jeers linked to a handball incident during Euro 2024 that went unpunished.
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