Enzo Fernandez has only been a Man City player for two months, and he has already told Argentine television that he is certain he will play for River Plate again.
Before City fans panic, there is no suggestion of anything happening soon. The 25-year-old cost €145m from Chelsea on deadline day, reuniting him with Enzo Maresca, and his contract at the Etihad runs until 2031.
But the midfielder was very clear when he appeared on Los Edul, the show hosted by Argentine journalists Gaston Edul and his brother Esteban.
What Enzo Fernandez said about River Plate
“I want to return to River at some point, I’ve said it several times. I’m going to return, I’m sure of it. It’s something I really want. I stand by my words and what’s on record,” Fernandez said.
He then went further, and tied it back to the deal he signed in the summer: “If I say it, it’s because I feel it and because I know I need to return to win things and enjoy the River Plate world for many more years than I did. Today, I’m here with a long contract at Manchester City. There’s still a long way to go, but it will happen.”
That last line is the one that matters for City. He is not angling for a move, he is talking about the end of a long road.
Why Enzo Fernandez feels he has unfinished business
His story at River goes back a long way. He joined the academy in 2007, made his first-team debut in 2019 and spent 2020-21 on loan at Defensa y Justicia. He went on to score 12 goals and provide 10 assists in 52 games for the club, winning the league in 2021, before Benfica signed him in 2022 and Chelsea followed a few months later.
So his first-team spell was short. It explains the line about enjoying River for “many more years than I did”.
Enzo Fernandez at Man City so far
On the pitch, he has settled quickly. He has played 713 minutes across 10 matches with a goal and an assist, and his arrival, alongside Elliot Anderson and Ayyoub Bouaddi, has pushed Mateo Kovacic into a limited role. Kovacic is not ruling out leaving in January in search of more game time.
Fernandez’s role could shift again against Brighton. In our Man City predicted lineup vs Brighton he moves further forward, with Bouaddi coming in and Rayan Cherki dropping out. Maresca has also made it clear that no player at the club is undroppable, whatever he cost.
Is Enzo Fernandez’s River Plate talk a problem for Man City?
We don’t think so. A player with five years left on his deal who says “there’s still a long way to go” is hardly knocking on the door, and plenty of South American players talk about going home one day. Most of them mean at the end of their careers, and that is how this reads.
The timing is a bit clumsy, two months into a €145m move, but City are paying for the next five years of his prime rather than the years after. If he is still saying it in 2031, River Plate fans will be delighted, and City should have had their money’s worth by then.
