LONDON (AP) — Enzo Fernandez's immediate future at Chelsea remains up in the air.
The Argentina midfielder apologized for saying he wants to live in Madrid, but Chelsea manager Liam Rosenior confirmed Friday the player's internal two-game ban stands and that Fernandez still has “a few hurdles” to overcome.
The 25-year-old Fernandez sat out Chelsea's 7-0 win over Port Vale in the FA Cup quarterfinals last weekend and will be kept out of Sunday's Premier League game against Manchester City at Stamford Bridge.
“He won’t play on Sunday but, hopefully, after that, he’ll be a massive part of the group moving forward,” Rosenior said at a press conference.
“There’s still a few hurdles that need to be overcome that I won’t go into, but at the same time I want every player really, really focused now on a huge run-in.”
The World Cup-winning playmaker was disciplined for saying on a podcast that he would like to live in Madrid — amid speculation of a move to Real Madrid.
“He’s apologized to me, he’s apologized to the club, and we’ll deal with that after a massive game on Sunday,” said Rosenior, who was hired in January. “I’m not questioning Enzo’s character, I’m not questioning who he is as a person. I believe people make mistakes. You can’t overstep the punishment for the mistake.”
Rosenior continued: “We’ve made a sanction, we made a decision, I made a decision. What I want for Enzo is for him to go on here and have an outstanding career.”
Chelsea is in sixth place and fighting for a Champions League spot with seven games left in the season.
“Football is a team sport, it’s not about individuals,” Rosenior said. “There are certain values and cultures that I believe in, that this club believes that makes the team stronger if you get that right.”
Fernandez joined Chelsea from Benfica for a then-British record fee of 107 million pounds ($143 million) in early 2023.
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Argentina's Enzo Fernandez celebrates scoring his side's opening goal against Mauritania during a friendly match in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Friday, March 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Gustavo Garello)
FILE - Chelsea's Enzo Fernandez holds the ball during the English League Cup semifinal second leg soccer match between Arsenal and Chelsea in London, Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Ian Walton)
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks wavered on Wall Street Friday and oil prices held steady amid a shaky ceasefire agreement between the U.S. and Iran.
The S&P 500 rose 0.2% in morning trading and is heading for a second consecutive winning week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 106 points, or 0.3%, as of 10:43 a.m. Eastern. The Nasdaq composite rose 0.6%.
Major indexes have been gaining ground over the last two weeks amid optimism that the war with Iran could be heading toward a resolution. The market is still prone to big swings on developments around the war.
Trading on Wall Street remained choppy. There were more stocks losing ground than making gains within the benchmark S&P 500. The index has erased most of its losses from March and is just 2% short of its all-time high set in January.
Technology companies with hefty values helped counter losses elsewhere in the market.
Nvidia rose 2.4% and Broadcom rose 4.9%.
Markets in Asia and Europe gained ground.
Oil prices have been behind many of the stock market’s sharp movements. Oil prices have surged as shipping through the vital Strait of Hormuz essentially stalled since the war began.
Brent crude oil, the international standard, has gone from roughly $70 per barrel before the war in late February to more than $119 at times. Brent fell 0.5% to $95.47 Friday.
U.S. crude oil prices fell 0.3% to $97.59 per barrel.
Negotiators from Iran and the U.S. are preparing for high-level talks on Saturday. The situation remains uncertain. Iran’s semiofficial Tasnim news agency claimed that talks wouldn’t happen unless Israel stopped its attacks in Lebanon.
The conflict is behind surging inflation in the U.S. in March. The government reported the biggest spike in inflation in four years as prices at the gas pump jumped. But, the inflation increase was just short of what economists expected.
Bond yields held mostly steady following the latest inflation update. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.31% from 4.29% late Thursday.
Inflation has been a lingering concern for economists and the Federal Reserve. Prices on a range of consumer goods and services are already stubbornly high, in part from the impact of extensive global tariffs. Higher gas prices are immediately felt by drivers at the pump, but they could eventually raise prices on everything from food to airfare as companies pass along higher costs for shipping and fuel.
Consumer sentiment slumped 10.7% percent in April, according to a closely watched monthly survey from the University of Michigan. It also shows that consumers are growing more worried about inflation, with year-ahead expectations surging to 4.8% in April from 3.8% in March.
Inflation remains a major concern for the Federal Reserve, which has signaled more caution amid worries about inflation reheating. The rate of inflation remains above the central bank's 2% target. The threat of rising inflation will likely mean the central bank continues to hold interest rates steady. Several Fed officials have also said a rate hike may be needed if inflation doesn’t cool.
Lower interest rates help boost stocks and other investments by lowering borrowing costs. Interest rate cuts also risk worsening inflation.
Wall Street is forecasting that the Fed will likely hold its interest rate steady through 2026.
Bobby Charmak works on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Tuesday, April 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
John Mauro works on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Tuesday, April 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Philip Finale works on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Tuesday, April 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Currency traders work near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), top center, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won, top center left, at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, April 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Currency traders work near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), top center, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won, top center left, at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, April 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
A screen showing Asia markets indexes at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, April 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Currency traders stretch near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), right, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, April 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
