Chelsea Manager Marisca Defends Decision to Isolate Sterling and Disasi
LONDON - Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino has defended his decision to exclude forwards Raheem Sterling and defender Axel Disasi from first-team training and activities, explaining the situation is not unique to the club and is a outcome of not finding a mutually agreeable solution for players outside of his squad plans. The pair have been training and eating separately from the rest of the chelsea team.
The situation, dubbed the “Pozetine Squad” by some observers, highlights the challenges facing modern football clubs in managing players deemed surplus to requirements. Sterling, formerly of Manchester City, is currently on loan and linked to a two-year contract extension as joining Chelsea in 2022, while Disasi’s four-year contract continues following his move from Monaco in 2023, though he spent the second half of last season on loan at Aston Villa.
Speaking ahead of Saturday’s match against Manchester United, Pochettino stated, ”I was in a merciful position and Axel as a player, and I no that it is not a good feeling, because the player wants to train and play. But for various reasons, this is the situation now. I know that the club gives them an opportunity to work in the right way, and this is all I can say.” He further emphasized the prevalence of such scenarios across global football, stating, “This is not limited to Chelsea, but rather happens in any club in the world, in Italy, Spain, England, France, the United States, and Brazil. If the club and the player do not find a solution, and it is not within the squad, then you are simply outside it.”
Chelsea reportedly attempted to facilitate a transfer for Sterling to bayern Munich or Napoli last summer, but the 30-year-old opted to remain in England due to family reasons. Pochettino appeared unsympathetic to the players’ situation, drawing a comparison to his own father’s demanding profession: “My father is 75 years old, and over 50 years he was working as a fisherman from two in the morning until ten in the morning. This is the sad thing in life, not what Sterling and Disasi is going through.”
FIFA regulations address the treatment of players excluded from teams in potentially detrimental circumstances, potentially granting players the right to terminate their contracts early.
