LONDON (AP) — Enzo Maresca's dad would take Raheem Sterling's training hours any day of the week.
The Chelsea manager cited his father's grueling workdays as a fisherman to put into perspective the difficulties facing players Sterling and Axel Disasi, who have been isolated from the first team.
“My father is 75 years old and for 50 years he has been (a) fisherman, working from 2 o’clock in the morning until 10 o’clock in the morning,” the Italian coach said Friday ahead of Chelsea's game at Manchester United. “This is sad in life, not a player the way they work.”
Neither player is in Maresca’s plans and the coach has said he's not spoken to them this season. Both players have been kept separate from the team, training and eating alone and at different times to the rest of the squad.
Earlier this week, the 30-year-old Sterling posted a photo on his Instagram account showing the club's empty training grounds and listed the time as 8:21 p.m. It said “Training” accompanied by two emojis: a handshake, and a cold face.
The former England winger, who failed to impress on loan at Arsenal last season, reportedly rejected transfer options that would have moved him away from London. He has two years left on his contract.
“I've been in Raheem's situation and Axel's situation as a player,” Maresca said. “For sure I know that it's not the best feeling for a player because if you are a player, that means that you want to train and play a game.”
Such fallouts happen at every club, he added.
“It’s not just Chelsea, it’s any club in the world, I can promise you. When for any reason the player and the club doesn’t find any solution, you give the player all the tools to do training sessions and to do everything but if you are not involved in the squad, you are not involved in the squad,” Maresca said.
The manager was then asked about the potential mental-health impacts on the players, to which he responded with the analogy about his father.
Disasi, a defender, joined Chelsea from Monaco two years ago and is under contract until 2029. He went on loan to Aston Villa in the second half of last season.
Chelsea, which lost 3-1 at Bayern Munich in the Champions League in midweek, plays at Old Trafford on Saturday evening.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
FILE - PSV's Tyrell Malacia, right, challenges for the ball with Arsenal's Raheem Sterling during the Champions League round of 16 second leg soccer match between Arsenal FC and PSV Eindhoven at the Arsenal stadium in London, England, Wednesday, March 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant, File)
FILE - AFC Wimbledon's Josh Davison, right, challenges Chelsea's Axel Disasi during the English League Cup second round soccer match between Chelsea and AFC Wimbledon at Stamford Bridge stadium in London, Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2023. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)
Chelsea's head coach Enzo Maresca gives instructions from the side line during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between FC Bayern Munich and Chelsea at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany, Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
