Maresca about Sterling and Disasi: "Life of my father is hard, theirs is not"

This summer, in terms of signings, was no different for Chelsea compared to some previous ones. Around ten new arrivals came to Stamford Bridge, and since the London club has been bringing in players “on a grand scale” in recent years, it was forced to permanently or temporarily offload more than twenty footballers.

However, the club wasn’t able to find a new team for everyone, so Raheem Sterling and Axel Disasi remain “trapped” in West London.

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Trapped, because Enzo Maresca doesn’t count on them. The Italian coach recently admitted that he hasn’t even spoken to or seen any of them this summer since “they train on different pitches at different times compared to the rest of the first team.”

English media reported yesterday that the club had allegedly been contacted by the Professional Footballers’ Association to inquire about the conditions under which the duo are training after being excluded from the squad by Maresca.

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A day later, the treatment Sterling—Chelsea’s highest-paid player—and Disasi have received from Maresca was the main topic of the Italian’s press conference. Journalists wanted to know if he was concerned about the impact the situation might have on the players’ mental health, to which Maresca replied:

“My father is 75 years old and has been a fisherman for 50 years, working from two in the morning until ten in the morning. That is hard; the way they work is not. As a player, I’ve been in the same situation as Raheem and Axel. Of course, I know it’s not the best feeling for a footballer, because you want to train, you want to play games. For many reasons, the situation is what it is. I know the club is giving them the chance to work in the right way,” said Maresca.

The Chelsea manager stressed that the situation Sterling and Disasi are in is not unusual in football.

“You like to talk about it, but it’s not just Chelsea—this happens at every club in the world. I assure you, in Italy, Spain, England, France, America, Brazil… Whenever, for whatever reason, the club and player don’t find a solution, you give the player every possible tool to train, everything… If you’re not in the team, you’re not in the team,” Maresca concluded.

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The Italian had crossed Sterling off his list as soon as he arrived at the club, and the winger hasn’t made a single appearance for Chelsea since. He spent last season on loan at Arsenal, and this summer Chelsea offered him to Bayern and Napoli, but Raheem chose to remain in England to stay close to his family. On the other hand, Disasi still featured somewhat during the first half of last season, but failed to impress, and he spent the second half of the campaign on loan at Aston Villa.

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE MATCHDAY 5

Saturday

14.30: (1.48) Liverpool (4.40) Everton (6.75)

17.00: (2.30) Brighton (3.60) Tottenham (3.15)

17.00: (3.40) Burnley (3.50) Nott.Forest (2.25)

17.00: (2.95) West Ham (3.30) Crystal Palace (2.45)

17.00: (2.70) Wolverhampton (3.20) Leeds (2.90)

19.30: (2.80) Man.Utd. (3.75) Chelsea (2.45)

22.00: (2.05) Fulham (3.50) Brentford (3.90)

Sunday

16.00: (2.45) Bournemouth (3.35) Newcastle (2.90)

16.00: (3.60) Sunderland (3.55) Aston Villa (2.15)

18.30: (1.95) Arsenal (3.85) Man.City (3.90)

*** odds are subject to change