1. He Was Named After A Uruguayan Legend Called Enzo Francescoli.

It was Fernandez’s father, Raul, who despite being a patriotic Argentinian, had a deep fascination with Uruguayan football and in particular one of their aforementioned heroes Enzo Francescoli.
The legendary midfielder starred for Argentine side River Plate during the 1980s and 90s, making appearances at both the 1986 and 1990 World Cups in Mexico and Italy. Such was Raul Fernandez's admiration for the Uruguayan that he decided to give his son the same Christian name.
2. He Grew Up In Humble Surroundings

Despite his newfound global fame, Fernandez grew up in a working-class household within the extremely modest surroundings of San Martin, Argentina. His parents were both public sector workers, Father Raul grafting as a painter and his mother Martha was a cleaner.
From a young age, Fernandez had to work in poorly paid jobs along with his older siblings just to get by. Reportedly he considered leaving his dreams of becoming a footballer behind in order to support his family financially but luckily Fernandez’s parents insisted that he continue to pursue the career choice.

3. He Graduated From River Plate’s Famous Academy

River Plate’s Youth Academy is famed for its ability to produce a long line of outstanding Argentinian talents. Enzo Fernandez honed his skills alongside future teammates Julian Alvarez, Gonzalo Montiel, and Exequiel Palacios during his development within their youth system.
Following his graduation to River Plate’s first team, he made 40 appearances across two seasons and provided an impressive 10goal return, all from a deeper-lying midfield position.

4. He Is Argentina’s Youngest Scorer Since Messi

Aged 21, 10 months and 13 days, Enzo Fernandez officially became the youngest player to score for his country since Lionel Messi back in 2006. Making an appearance as a substitute against Mexico, Fernandez scored the second goal of the game to seal an all-important victory for Argentina.
Oddly, he would also become the youngest Argentinian to score an own goal for his national side. At the World Cup 2022, during their 2-1 win over Australia in the round of 16, Fernandez accidentally diverted Craig Goodwin’s shot into his own net.

5. He Is The First Argentinian To Win This FIFA Award

First featured in 1958 and won by teenage Brazilian sensation Pele, Enzo Fernandez became only the seventeenth winner of the Fifa Young Player Award. The accolade is given to the young player judged to have been the finest performer across a particular World Cup tournament.
Fernandez is the first Argentinian and only the second South American to claim the individual trophy since its inception, following on from 20year old Peruvian Teofillo Cubillas back in 1970.

6. He Is The Sixth Most Expensive Football Transfer Of All Time

Enzo Fernandez’s fee is bettered only by Ousmane Dembele and Philippe Coutinho’s moves to Barcelona as well as Joao Felix’s transfer from Benfica to Atletico Madrid in 2019. The definitive factor in Fernandez’s price tag was undoubtedly his release clause. Former club Benfica had already put in place a minimum buyout of €121 million. So once Chelsea had agreed to meet this figure then the transfer to England was both unstoppable and inevitable.

7. His Value Increased By €100m In Just Six Months!

In the space of six months, following his impressive World Cup displays for Argentina, Benfica had turned Fernandez, a player who they’d bought from River Plate for an initial £8.8million (beating Premier League side Wolves to his signature in the process) into a star worth over €120 million!

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