Cucurella cannot wait for former Chelsea team-mate to join him in Madrid

Spain international Cucurella, 27, secured a £52million switch to the Bernabeu from Stamford Bridge earlier this month.

And he is keen to be reunited with Fernandez after the World Cup as the La Liga giants prepare for Jose Mourinho's second spell in charge.

Speaking to Radio Marca, Cucurella said: “He is a great player and he's a friend of mine. He congratulated me on my signing [for Real Madrid].

“Let's hope it gets done. I'd be very happy [if he joins].

“We've been very happy at Chelsea and both having the chance to sign for Madrid in the same summer... let's hope he's lucky and becomes a Real Madrid player.”

While Cucurella’s words will not go down well with the Chelsea faithful, Fernandez is seemingly firmly in the shop window as Argentina bid to defend the World Cup in North America.

The all-action midfielder, 25, joined the Blues from Benfica for just shy of £107m during the January transfer window in 2023.

Despite being axed for two games by former boss Liam Rosenior after expressing his admiration for Madrid, Fernandez was one of the leading lights for the Londoners during a forgettable season.

He has yet to miss a minute of Argentina’s Group J campaign, which has seen skipper Lionel Messi bag a hat-trick in a 3-0 win against Nigeria and net both goals in the 2-0 success over Austria.

Jordan are up next up for Lionel Scaloni’s men and Fernandez could be handed a deserved rest with a place in the knockout stage already secured.

Along with standing in for Reece James as Chelsea captain when required, the World Cup winner scored 15 goals in all competitions during a 2025-26 campaign that had promised so much following glory at the Club World Cup.

But with Enzo Maresca sacked after falling out with the board, Rosenior rapidly came and went before being replaced by interim boss Calum McFarlane.

Although the Blues reached the Carabao Cup semis and the FA Cup final, behind the scenes a number of top stars were unhappy with the club’s direction.

Despite that, Fernandez gave his all throughout and returned even more determination to prove his worth after being suspended by Rosenior.

Ultimately, however, the popular Argentine could not steer Chelsea to success and his imminent departure has been begrudgingly accepted by the club’s fans.

After all, they are fully aware of the lure of Mourinho having watched him lead the Blues to trophies galore during two memorable stints at the Bridge.  

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